United States and Iran trade fresh strikes further testing 60-day truce

Iran said it launched strikes against eight United States targets in Bahrain and Kuwait early Sunday morning local time.

It is the latest barrage in a flare-up of hostilities that began on Thursday and has threatened to undermine talks to end the Iran war.

Tehran said the strikes on military installations were in retaliation for attacks launched by Washington on multiple targets in Iran.

US Central Command said its airstrikes had been in response to what it said was an Iranian attack earlier on an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz.

The ship, the Panamanian-flagged tanker Kiku, carried crude oil for the state-run energy company of Qatar, a key negotiator between Tehran and Washington.

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.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for that strike, but suspicion fell on Iran.

The two countries have exchanged heated rhetoric following the latest rounds of hostilities with both blaming the other for violating a 60-day ceasefire.

It is unclear whether the series of tit-for-tat strikes will halt negotiations to end the war.

The interim agreement was meant to end fighting and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping, while talks took place on other issues including Iran’s nuclear programme.

Tehran's Revolutionary Guards on Saturday said it was taking measures to control traffic in the vital waterway and that vessels violating its sanctioned route would be dealt with more firmly.

A multinational maritime body overseen by the US Navy earlier said it would expand a route near Oman in the Strait to allow for both inbound and outbound traffic, likely setting up a new flashpoint with Tehran.

In a social media post, US President Donald Trump accused Iran of violating the ceasefire agreement, and warned of a point where the US “will be forced to militarily complete the job".

“If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.