Here's the latest
• Hourslong strikes: The US military said it hit dozens of Iranian military targets in a second night of strikes. Iranian state media said its forces were responding with a fresh wave of attacks toward US bases in the region.
• Diplomatic breakdown: The flare-up is threatening a fragile agreement between the US and Iran as they near the halfway mark of a 60-day window to negotiate a deal.
• US allies under fire: Sirens were activated in Bahrain while the military in Kuwait said it was dealing with “hostile aerial targets.” Jordan’s military intercepted four missiles it said were launched by Iran.
• Oil prices climb: Brent crude and US crude prices were up over 3% on Sunday following the weekend of attacks.
Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan respond to aerial threats after Iran launches retaliatory strikes
US allies Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan all reported responding to aerial threats on Monday morning local time, after Iran said it was launching strikes across the region in response to US attacks on its territory.
Sirens were activated in Bahrain while the military in Kuwait said it was dealing with “hostile aerial targets,” and Jordan’s military intercepted four missiles from Iran. All three countries also reported aerial attacks on Sunday.
In Bahrain, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said its air force struck the Isa Air Base, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported.
The Isa Air Base doesn’t hold a permanent US presence, but rather periodic rotations of US personnel.
Bases housing US operations in Kuwait were also hit, including a missile base that was set on fire, where missile launchers and ammunition depots were destroyed, the IRGC said.
In Jordan, the IRGC said it had targeted several large missile depots and fuel storage facilities at Prince Hassan Air Base, in a statement reported by Fars early Monday local time.
CNN could not verify reports of strikes on US bases. CNN has reached out to Central Command, which is responsible for US forces in the region, for comment on the Iranian state media reports.
CNN’s Lex Harvey and Yasha Saebi contributed reporting.
US and Iran in a "very determined fight" over who controls Hormuz, expert says
The conflict between the US and Iran has devolved into a “very determined fight over who controls the Strait of Hormuz,” said Mehran Kamrava, professor of government at Georgetown University in Qatar.
“Iran is keenly aware of the fact that it cannot match the United States and Israel militarily. So, it is trying to turn the conflict from a military one into an economic one,” Kamrava said, adding it has “in some ways succeeded in doing so.”
“Iran is determined to hold onto the Strait of Hormuz as a source of leverage,” Kamrava told CNN’s Will Ripley.
“Iran wants to establish some sort of administrative influence, and the Americans are determined to undermine that influence.”
The US has claimed its strikes are intended to reduce Iran’s ability to attack ships in the crucial waterway.
“It’s all about the Strait of Hormuz right now,” Kamrava said.
US uses one-way attack sea drones for first time in Iran strikes, CENTCOM says
US Central Command says it used “one-way attack aerial drones, and one-way attack sea drones for the first time” in strikes against Iran on Sunday.
The exact type of drones or in what numbers each were used was not specified in its press release.
US aerial attack drones saw their first use early in the war with Iran, when CENTCOM deployed the Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) – essentially a knock off of the Iranian-designed Shahed 136 drones that Russia has used in large numbers in its war on Ukraine.
“These low-cost drones, modeled after Iran’s Shahed drones, are now delivering American-made retribution,” CENTCOM said in a social media post at the time.
As for sea drones, the US has been experimenting with a few types, according to analyst Carl Schuster, a former director of the US Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center.
“The most suitable for one-way strikes is the Fleet-class unmanned surface vessel (USV),” Schuster told CNN.
These craft were designed for mine-countermeasures or anti-submarine missions, but with a speed of more than 40 mph they could be adapted for one-way, “suicide strikes,” he said.
“They are expensive (over $2 million per) but … would be hard to stop,” Schuster said, adding that the USV and the LUCAS aerial drones are designed to be deployed from US Navy littoral combat ships.
Videos show aftermath of strike on Iranian airport
CNN has geolocated and verified videos from Iran showing the aftermath of a strike at an airport in Omidiyeh, a southwestern city.
The videos posted on Monday showed an aircraft hangar in flames after being struck.
Valiollah Hayati, the deputy governor of the Iranian province of Khuzestan, said Omidiyeh was among several cities targeted by US strikes early Monday local time, according to Iranian state media IRNA. He did not mention the airport and said authorities are currently assessing the affected areas for damage.
US Central Command said on Sunday evening ET that it had completed its latest wave of strikes in Iran, hitting “dozens” of targets.
CNN’s Lex Harvey and Yasha Saebi contributed reporting.
Gulf nations wake up to fresh attacks after second night of US strikes on Iran
The United States launched an hourslong wave of strikes against Iran on Sunday night.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it hit dozens of Iranian military targets in its latest strikes.
As sunrise approached over the Gulf, Iran responded to the attack by targeting regional US bases, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said.
Here’s the latest:
- US renews Iran strikes: Forces launched strikes against Iran at 5 p.m. ET Sunday “to continue degrading their ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the Strait of Hormuz,” CENTCOM said, adding the order was given by US President Donald Trump.
- One killed: Explosions were reported in the south of Iran. A security guard was killed and four others were wounded after a projectile hit a water pumping station in Mahshahr County, southwestern Iran, state media IRNA reported citing an Iranian official.
- Iran responds: Following the hourslong strike, Iran attacked US military bases with drones and missiles, the IRGC said. Sirens were activated in Bahrain, the country’s interior ministry said. In Kuwait, the military said it was dealing with aerial threats. And Jordan’s military intercepted four missiles from within its airspace, according to state media.
- Oil prices rise: Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 3.92% to $78.99 a barrel Sunday. US crude climbed 3.44% to $73.87 a barrel.
CNN’s Eyad Kourdi, Lex Harvey, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Yasha Saebi and Zachary Cohen contributed to this report.
Timeline: Tensions flare between US and Iran over the weekend
It’s been a volatile weekend in the Middle East. The flare-up between the US and Iran comes as both countries near the halfway mark of a 60-day window to negotiate the final terms of a deal, following an initial agreement in June.
What happened over the weekend:
July 11
As mediators race to revive diplomacy, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi travels to Muscat to meet with his Omani counterpart. Oman drafts a tentative proposal to manage traffic in the Strait of Hormuz through two separately controlled routes, according to a source.
Hours later, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) say they fired a warning shot at a vessel trying to cross the Strait of Hormuz via an unauthorized route, and declares the waterway closed.
The US military launches its third round of strikes in a week, saying the IRGC “blatantly attacked” a Cyprus-flagged container ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Multiple explosions are reported in the south of Iran. In a later update, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) says it hit 140 Iranian military targets.
The IRGC says it launched strikes on US military targets across the Gulf. Authorities in Gulf nations report defending against attacks, including in Qatar, where three people are hurt by falling debris during interception operations.
July 12
Indian authorities say one of its nationals is missing after an attack on a commercial vessel on the Strait of Hormuz. It adds 10 others were rescued from the ship.
The US and Iran are at odds over the status of the Strait Hormuz. US President Donald Trump and CENTCOM insist the waterway is open, while Iran’s strait authority says the passage of vessels is “not possible.”
The US military launches another round of strikes after the previous day’s assault in the evening and says it hit dozens of Iranian military targets. Iran reports multiple explosions in the south of the country, including at a water pumping station where one person was killed.
Iran says it conducted a new wave of missile and drone attacks toward US bases in the region, including those in Kuwait and Bahrain.
Dalia Abdelwahab, Aleena Fayaz, Eyad Kourdi, Mitchell McCluskey, Laura Sharman, Julia Benbrook, Billy Stockwell, Aida Karimi, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Zachary Cohen, Piper Hudspeth Blackburn and Lex Harvey contributed reporting.
Oil prices climb on Sunday after US-Iran flare-up
Oil prices climbed Sunday after a weekend of strikes between the United States and Iran.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 3.92% to $78.99 a barrel, and US crude climbed 3.44% to $73.87 a barrel.
But the increase is “pretty tame,” Bob McNally, founder and president of Rapidan Energy Group, told CNN. Brent crude oil prices have trended lower since reaching $115 a barrel in April.
McNally said oil prices have fallen because of President Donald Trump’s reassurance that he wants the Strait of Hormuz open to avoid “a real economic and financial catastrophe.”
Iran has warned vessels against using alternative routes, such as traveling along the Omani coastline. The Omani “southern route” remains open, according to a naval advisory board.
With the uptick in oil prices, gas prices may soon be on the rise. An average gallon of gas in the US costs about $3.87, according to data from AAA — a 30% increase from when the war began in late February.
Gas prices had reached an average of $4.56 on Memorial Day, a busy weekend for drivers. McNally said the drop since the holiday is due to crude oil having “really unwound most of its war gains. That’s partly due to the president’s messaging and balancing on that.”
Meanwhile, Dow Jones futures and S&P futures slipped 0.2%, while Nasdaq futures dropped 0.3%.
US and Iran's conflicting messages on the Strait of Hormuz
Washington and Tehran have been making contradictory claims about the status of marine traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, which is key to Tehran’s leverage in negotiations.
What Iran says
Over the weekend, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it closed the Strait of Hormuz after firing a warning shot at a vessel attempting to use an unauthorized route to cross the waterway.
Iran’s strait authority later backed up the claim and said the passage of vessels is “not possible” and it would review permits once “stability and calm are restored.”
What the US says
US Central Command declared the waterway was “open to all vessels” and US forces were prepared to ensure “freedom of navigation.”
The Joint Maritime Information Center, which is overseen by the US Navy, also said the “southern route” through the strait, which hugs the Omani coastline, remains open for two-way traffic.
US President Donald Trump also told CNN “it’s open as far as we’re concerned.”
Tracking data shows traffic was reduced to a trickle Sunday.
CNN’s Lex Harvey, Julia Benbrook, Billy Stockwell, Aida Karimi, Catherine Nicholls and Izzy Lippolis contributed reporting.
