June 28, 2026, 02:04 AM
12131By STEPHEN M. LEPORE, US SENIOR REPORTER
PUBLISHED: 18:38 EDT, 27 June 2026 | UPDATED: 02:41 EDT, 28 June 2026
Iran unleashed strikes on eight American military targets across the Persian Gulf early on Sunday, dramatically escalating fears that the fragile US-Iran ceasefire is on the verge of collapse.
It came just hours after President Donald Trump warned he would wipe the Islamic Republic 'off the map' if fighting erupted again.
Tehran said its Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps fired ballistic missiles and drones towards 'eight key pieces of infrastructure' at the US Navy's Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain and the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, describing the barrage as retaliation for American airstrikes ordered by Trump on Iranian military sites.
As the attacks unfolded, a US military official confirmed: 'Iran has launched multiple missiles and drones towards neighboring countries including Bahrain and Kuwait. The situation is still unfolding. There are no reported US casualties or major impacts or damage to our locations at this time.'
The latest exchange marked the most dangerous escalation since Washington and Tehran agreed to an interim ceasefire, with Iran's Revolutionary Guards warning that American military bases across the region 'will be experiencing hell during these days.'
The barrage came only hours after US Central Command announced a second wave of American strikes against Iran in less than 24 hours, saying US aircraft had hit surveillance infrastructure, communications systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities and minelayer capabilities along the Strait of Hormuz.
Officials described it as a direct response to an Iranian attack on an oil tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
CENTCOM said the strikes were carried out after Iran attacked the oil tanker M/T Kiku, which was carrying more than two million barrels of crude through the Strait of Hormuz, and accused Tehran of repeatedly violating the ceasefire.
'Iran was given a chance to honor the ceasefire agreement but elected not to,' CENTCOM said.
President Trump said American forces had struck Iranian missile and drone storage sites as punishment for violating the truce before issuing one of his starkest warnings yet to Tehran.
'United States aircraft just struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations, and coastal radar sites, for violating the Cease Fire Agreement, AGAIN!' Trump wrote on Truth Social.
'There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started,' he added. 'If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!'
Iran condemned the American strikes as a violation of the ceasefire agreement and the UN Charter before announcing what it described as retaliatory attacks against eight US military targets in the Gulf.
Despite the rapid escalation, there were no immediate reports of American casualties.
Bahrain said warning sirens sounded across the kingdom, while Kuwait's military said its air defenses were responding to incoming missile and drone threats.
Earlier on Saturday, Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard issued a statement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency saying it had targeted two military bases 'of the US terrorist army in the region.'
Using 'ballistic missiles and drones,' they said they attacked 'in response' to US strikes.
According to ship tracking websites, the Kiku left a Qatari oil field in the middle of the Persian Gulf earlier in the week and was bound for a port in the United Arab Emirates that sits on the Gulf of Aman, just on the other side of the Strait of Hormuz.
It appeared to be attempting to use a route that was established near the coast of Oman that is serving as an alternative to the route sanctioned by Iran that runs through its own waters.
A multinational maritime body overseen by the US Navy said Saturday that it would expand the Omani route to allow for both inbound and outbound traffic, likely setting up a new flashpoint with Tehran, which sees the strait as a key source of leverage in ongoing talks with the US.
The tanker was laden with more than two million barrels of crude oil and sailing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The US military said that 'Iran had a chance to honor the ceasefire agreement' but 'elected not to' when its forces attacked the Kiku.
Iran state TV reported explosions in an area just north of the Strait of Hormuz.
It comes just after Iran launched a drone assault targeting Bahrain while a ship in the Strait of Hormuz separately came under attack Saturday, in Tehran's likely response to overnight airstrikes by the United States.
The attacks in the Persian Gulf show the danger of the Iran war again spinning out of control, even after Iran and the US reached an interim deal to try and agree on a final accord to end the conflict.
The US launched the overnight strikes in response to an Iranian drone attack on a container ship trying to leave the strait on Thursday, continuing a string of attacks that have shaken the war's uneasy ceasefire.
Meanwhile, a multinational maritime body overseen by the US Navy said Saturday that it would expand a route near Oman in the strait to allow for both inbound and outbound traffic.
That likely sets up a new flashpoint with Tehran, which sees the strait as a key source of leverage in ongoing talks with the US.
Bahrain has been one of the strongest critics of Iran and is home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.
It just hosted Marco Rubio for a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council´s foreign ministers, which ended with a call for an end to Iran´s attacks and for the strait to be completely open.
A statement from Bahrain´s Foreign Ministry said a 'number of Iranian drones' targeted the country. It called the attack 'a flagrant threat to the security of citizens and residents.' There were no immediate reports of damage.
Tehran said US strikes violated the UN Charter and the war-ending memorandum between the two countries, according to a statement by its foreign ministry.
Iran did not identify the targets or say where they were located.
The US Central Command on Friday confirmed it had struck an Iranian missile and drone storage locations as well as radar sites along the Persian Gulf.
It came after Iran launched an explosive-laden suicide drone at a Singaporean cargo ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday.
The vessel sustained significant damage to its bridge, though no injuries or deaths have been confirmed.
Before the attack, Iran issued warnings through regime media to oil tankers, cautioning that routes through the strait were restricted and that other routes were 'completely dangerous.'
When asked by reporters moments before the attack occurred how the President would respond, Trump replied: 'You'll see.'
The attack comes as the US and Iran delicately negotiate a long-term peace agreement that would limit the regime's nuclear program.
The memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed last week, committed Iran to using its 'best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge for 60 days.'
The US and Iran are still negotiating terms of the deal, including issues such as getting ships through the key strait and addressing the future of
Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Under the interim deal, the two sides have 60 days to work out the details.
US Vice President JD Vance, who has led the negotiations with Iran, said on social media Friday night that Iran should 'pick up the phone' if there are disagreements about the ceasefire agreement, 'but violence will be met with violence.'
The US and Iran are negotiating terms of the deal including issues such as getting ships through the strait that's vital to global supplies of oil and natural gas and addressing the future of Iran´s nuclear program and stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
Under the interim deal, the two sides have 60 days to work out the details. Ending the fighting in Lebanon between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group is a key part of the deal.
The British military´s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said that a tanker was attacked Saturday in the strait, with the crew safe and no environmental damage reported. No one immediately claimed the strike, but suspicion fell on Iran.
Just after that report, the Joint Maritime Information Center, overseen by the US Navy, said the route near Oman´s shore is expanding to allow for inbound and outbound traffic.
Iran has insisted that ships must obey its orders and warned it will start charging fees for transit through the strait. However, ships have been increasingly trying to leave the Gulf in recent days.
Ebrahim Azizi, who heads the Iranian parliament´s national security commission, wrote Friday that 'the Strait of Hormuz is governed by Iran, so: Respect the rules.'
The US and Gulf Arab states have rejected Iran´s demands. The strait is considered as an international waterway, despite being the territorial waters of Iran and Oman.