U.S. and Iran Trade Strikes as Washington Violates Ceasefire Again
U.S. forces have struck Qeshm Island in Iran, according to Iran’s semi-official IRIB news outlet, in what would mark a fresh violation of the fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran. The U.S. military has since accepted responsibility, confirming an attack on an Iranian military ground control station on Qeshm Island, which it describes as a “self-defence” operation. It was not. The strike violated the ceasefire and triggered retaliatory missile and drone launches across the region.
The U.S. framing is further undermined by the timeline: explosions were reported on Qeshm Island before Iran launched its missiles, contradicting CENTCOM's claim that the strike was a response to "attempted Iranian attacks."
The strike on Qeshm Island is not the only report of explosions inside Iran, with further blasts heard in Fars and Isfahan provinces. Fighter jet activity has been reported above Tehran and other areas of the country. Beyond Iran, the strikes appear to have also targeted the Komala Party, a Kurdish separatist group headquartered in the Alana Valley northeast of Erbil, Iraq, with two missiles striking their headquarters at 23:00 local time
Iran has responded across multiple fronts. The IRGC claimed responsibility for missile strikes on U.S. bases in Kuwait, saying they were launched in direct response to the Qeshm strike. Iran also struck the vessel Panya with missiles, the IRGC said, in direct retaliation for the U.S. attack on the Iranian-linked tanker M/T Lexie the previous night.
“In response to the provocation and blatant aggression of American terrorist forces targeting the national sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the precious island of Qeshm,” the IRGC said, “the IRGC Aerospace Forces carried out precise and intensive missile strikes on the military bases of the American occupation in the State of Kuwait, which resulted in the successful destruction of their targets and the ignition of the aggressors’ fortresses.”
A second wave of missiles has since been launched, with further impacts reported around the Ali Al Salem airbase. Sirens are now active at the U.S. Navy base in Bahrain, Ali Al Salem and Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, and at U.S. bases in Saudi Arabia, which are now also being targeted. Bahrain, Kuwait and the UAE have closed their airspaces due to ongoing hostilities.
The USA has launched further airstrikes on Qeshm Island. Bahrain is now also a target of Iranian attacks, with public alerts, air defences and explosions reported in the country.
CENTCOM claims none of Iran’s counter-attacks reached their targets. Crust News cannot verify this claim, as explosions have been reported in at least three countries tonight, and the claim sits alongside a U.S. regime track record of minimising or misrepresenting battlefield outcomes in this conflict. According to CENTCOM, missiles fired toward Kuwait and Bahrain were either intercepted or failed in flight, and three Iranian attack drones targeting vessels in regional waters were shot down. They also claim no U.S. personnel were injured.
As missiles fall across the region, a U.S. official has told reporters: "We remain committed to the ceasefire with Iran. The ceasefire still stands."
