Iran attacked US military bases in Kuwait on Thursday, despite US President Donald Trump threatening further strikes in a fresh flare-up six months into the war.
asserted
Trump → attack → war
The new clashes, which began with US raids on Sunday, deepen the ongoing impasse in the war, as Iran maintains a stranglehold on the strategic Strait of Hormuz and the United States presses its counter-blockade of Iranian ports.
asserted
States → begin → ports
Trump said his military was prepared to attack Iran “any time we want” after extensive US bombardment of sites across the country left at least 19 Iranians dead between Tuesday and Wednesday.
asserted
bombardment → say → Tuesday
Tehran has once again retaliated with strikes across the Middle East this week, saying it targeted US bases and forces in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan and Iraq’s Kurdistan region.
asserted
it → retaliate → Emirates
Iran’s security chief Mohsen Rezaei warned the US on Wednesday that Iran had adopted a “new strategy” in the war that “will shatter your foundations”.
asserted
that → warn → foundations
Iran’s pummelling of US military targets across the region came after a US attack that hit a wedding in the country’s south, prompting fury from Tehran.
asserted
that → come → Tehran
The Iranian Red Crescent said shrapnel from the missile attack in the coastal town of Kuhestak killed four people, including a child, and wounded more than 50.
asserted
shrapnel → say → 50
The US military did not address the attack directly.
asserted
military → address → attack
US Central Command (Centcom) spokesman Tim Hawkins claimed “the US military never targets civilians, unlike the IRGC”, referring to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
Kuwait’s army on Thursday said it was intercepting a missile and drone attack from Iran, with the Iranian army saying it hit “the Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base in Kuwait with missiles and drones”.
asserted
it → claim → missiles
Iran’s army also said it struck Al Minhad Air Base in the United Arab Emirates, but the Gulf country reported no such attack.
asserted
country → say → attack
‘Maximum pressure’
Kuwait called the attacks “a direct threat to its security and stability, and the safety of its citizens and residents on its territory, and a grave breach of the rules of international law”.
asserted
Kuwait → call → law
Aside from military action, Washington has vowed to choke Iran’s economy, threatening to slap sanctions on its trade partners.
asserted
Washington → vow → partners
Energy Secretary Chris Wright pledged on Wednesday that a US plan for expanded sanctions targeting the Islamic republic’s economic partners would deliver “absolutely maximum pressure”.
asserted
plan → pledge → pressure
Trump also suggested on Wednesday renaming the Strait of Hormuz, a major shipping lane that Tehran has effectively shut for six months, as “Trump Strait” — although he implied later that he wasn’t serious.
uncertain
he → suggest → Strait
“Now that we have it under USA control, should we change the name Hormuz Strait to TRUMP STRAIT???” the US president wrote on Truth Social.
asserted
president → have → Social
‘Acts like Satan’
Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf lashed out at Washington over the wedding attack, calling the United States “Satan”.
asserted
negotiator → lash → States
“If a power acts like Satan, picks targets like Satan, and kills like Satan, it’s Satan,” he posted on X.
Iranians meanwhile expressed dismay over the return to hostilities.
asserted
Iranians → act → hostilities
The war erupted on February 28 with US-Israeli attacks on Iran that killed its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
asserted
that → erupt → leader
A fragile ceasefire collapsed in July after attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of world oil supplies previously flowed.
asserted
fifth → collapse → supplies
Israel’s defence minister meanwhile said his country was prepared to respond “with great force” if attacked by Iran over the Jewish high holiday season, which begins in mid-September.
asserted
which → say → September
“For now, they are striking throughout the region except us,” Israel Katz said.
asserted
Katz → strike → us
The Aporia
