Iran strikes Kuwait and Jordan after US launches wave of attacks

Iran strikes Kuwait and Jordan after US launches wave of attacks

The United States and Iran exchanged missile barrages on Thursday, July 30, 2026, as a five-month-old conflict expanded to involve more regional neighbors. The escalation followed a five-night pause in U.S. Bombing campaigns and a collapsed memorandum of understanding from June intended to facilitate peace talks.

The U.S. Military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) reported it successfully completed a heavy wave of strikes against Iran as of 10pm ET on Wednesday. The operation, which lasted approximately two hours, targeted dozens of facilities linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), including military command centers, drone and missile facilities, maritime capabilities, and coastal defense and surveillance sites.

CENTCOM stated the strikes were a response to Iranian attacks on U.S. Forces at a base in Jordan. The military added the objective was to diminish threats to American forces, neighboring Gulf nations, and commercial shipping.

Hours after the U.S. Barrage, Iran launched strikes against Jordan and Kuwait. The Jordanian Armed Forces reported they intercepted five Iranian missiles, though no casualties were reported. In Kuwait, an Iranian strike hit a building belonging to a Chinese company in the north of the country. Kuwait’s Defence Ministry spokesperson, Major-General Saud Abdulaziz al-Otaibi, confirmed the attack caused significant damage and killed one worker.

Saudi Arabia denounced the strikes on Jordan as a violation of international law and the principles of good neighbourliness.

Casualties and Regional Impact

Iranian media reported that three civilians were killed in the U.S. Strikes, including a couple and their two-year-old child who were in a residential building on Qeshm island. The IRGC stated three of its own personnel were also killed. Other reported strikes occurred in the southern province of Bushehr and the southwestern Fars province in the cities of Farashband and Kazerun.

In the oil-rich Khuzestan province, bombings were reported in Abadan and Ahvaz. A deputy security minister in Khuzestan told state broadcaster IRIB that U.S. Forces targeted locations in Abadan, while the Tasnim News Agency reported that strikes caused power outages in Ahvaz.

The violence has extended further into the region this week:

• Egypt: A drone caused fires on two natural gas vessels, including a U.S.-owned floating storage facility, at the Mediterranean port of Damietta. The Egyptian cabinet confirmed the drone attack, the first inside Egypt since the war began on February 28.
• Iraq: On Wednesday, the U.S. And Saudi Arabia partnered to strike Iran-backed militias in Iraq, killing at least 20 fighters and six Iranian advisers.
• Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia accused Iraqi militias of firing drones at its oil facilities. Additionally, Houthi rebels in Yemen declared a blockade of Saudi shipping and targeted oil facilities used to transport crude to the Red Sea port of Yanbu. Satellite imagery analyzed by the Associated Press showed damage to Saudi Aramco’s Abqaiq oil-processing facility.

The Battle for Hormuz

Much of the conflict centers on the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of oil and natural gas shipments passed in peacetime. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, stated the strait is currently closed due to American actions and military aggression by the U.S. And Israel that began on March 28.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury recently announced sanctions on two Iranian firms allegedly involved in an IRGC-backed scheme forcing commercial vessels to buy insurance to transit the strait. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote on X that the U.S. Will not allow Iran to use international shipping to finance the IRGC’s terrorism, aggression, and repression.

Diplomatic Deadlock

Despite the fighting, Pakistan continues to insist that negotiations are ongoing to de-escalate and normalize the situation in the Strait of Hormuz. Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi told reporters in Islamabad on July 30 that talks between Tehran and Washington are still under way.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that talks with Omani officials over the strait are continuing in Tehran. However, Iran previously rejected an Omani proposal regarding the co-management of shipping routes.

President Donald Trump told Fox News on July 29 that the U.S. Would let them keep talking, though he had previously vowed to hit Iran very hard. Former Pentagon official David Des Roches suggested the latest strikes were not overwhelming and that Trump may be attempting to keep the situation proportionate to leave room for diplomacy.