Live: Iran-U.S. Military Conflict Deepens with Drone Strikes on Kuwait Bases and American Retaliatory Bombing

The UN's atomic energy oversight body on Sunday called on all sides to show restraint, hours after Iran's Atomic Energy Organization announced that American forces had struck a nuclear power plant that is still being built in the country's southwestern region. Washington and Tehran have been caught in a tightening spiral of tit-for-tat attacks over recent days. The United States launched a new wave of airstrikes on Sunday with the stated purpose of holding Iran to account for the deaths of two American service members in Jordan on Friday, July 17 — the first confirmed U.S. casualties since both nations returned to open warfare in the wider West Asia conflict. Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, in a statement aired on state television, charged American forces with committing "an aggressive and brutal act contrary to international law" by hitting the Darkhovin nuclear power plant — a facility that remains unfinished — with multiple projectiles on Sunday.

American Secretary of State Marco Rubio held talks with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in Washington on Sunday, a State Department spokesperson confirmed to AFP, following the close of the latest round of Lebanon-Israel negotiations held in Italy. The visit marks the first time a Lebanese head of state has traveled to Washington since Michel Sleiman met then-President Barack Obama there in 2009. Mr. Aoun's office said he is scheduled to sit down separately with President Donald Trump on July 21. The office noted that the discussions would address both the prevailing situation in Lebanon and avenues to strengthen the ceasefire, along with the question of Israel's withdrawal from Lebanese territories it currently occupies.

Iran's state-run media has reported that sounds resembling an explosion were heard in the city of Abadan. — Reuters

According to Israeli media reports, an Iranian missile came down on Jordan's Aqaba Airport. The impact was clearly visible from the Israeli city of Eilat, which sits just across the border.

The United States today carried out airstrikes against Iran, describing the operation as punishment for the deaths of American troops — the first U.S. military fatalities since hostilities flared up openly in West Asia. Iran responded swiftly, claiming it had struck two American military installations in Kuwait in retaliation for more than a week of mounting U.S. attacks. Tehran says those attacks included strikes on an airport, a railway station and several bridges. Meanwhile, an early-stage deal aimed at bringing the war to an end has unravelled, as both sides press for the upper hand over the Strait of Hormuz — a sea passage whose control is pivotal to the global oil trade. — AFP

Jordan's state news agency confirmed that the country's armed forces brought down three Iranian missiles that had been aimed at the kingdom, while a fourth projectile came down in a remote, uninhabited stretch of land. Quoting a military official, the agency said the episode resulted in no casualties and caused no material damage whatsoever.

The International Atomic Energy Agency announced today that it has begun looking into accounts of an attack carried out overnight at the site where Iran's planned Darkhovin nuclear power plant is under construction. The agency said the facility was at a very preliminary stage of being built and had no nuclear material on site at the time of its most recent inspection.

Israel's military told AFP that its troops, working in tandem with Jordan's forces, had successfully shot down an Iranian missile that was headed for the Jordanian city of Aqaba. When AFP asked about explosion reports from around the Israeli city of Eilat, an army spokeswoman stated that both Israel and Jordan had together brought down the incoming projectile.

An AFP correspondent on the ground reported that air-raid sirens rang out in Jordan's capital city of Amman as the exchange of drone and missile attacks between the United States and Iran escalated. The Jordanian state broadcaster Al-Mamlaka also reported that alert sirens had been set off in various parts across the kingdom.

Israel's military said today it had tracked the launch of missiles from inside Iranian territory, directed toward the Jordanian city of Aqaba, which borders Israeli land. The army also warned that the strikes could potentially spread into southern Israel. Jordanian state television reported that sirens had begun sounding throughout the country.

United States President Donald Trump on Saturday urged Republican lawmakers to expand the Russia sanctions bill by bringing Iran into its scope as well.

An Israeli military official said today that Israel is preparing to take delivery of more US aerial refuelling aircraft, as military operations between the United States and Iran have significantly stepped up over the past week. The two countries have ramped up strikes against each other since a temporary ceasefire agreement concluded a month ago fell apart, raising the prospect of a return to full-scale war. Israel has not taken part in the latest round of American strikes. The Israeli official confirmed that Washington had "decided to adjust its force posture in the region" and would be bolstering the existing fleet of aerial refuelling aircraft already based in Israel with additional planes. — Reuters

Kuwaiti authorities confirmed today that a power and water facility was struck by Iran for the second day in a row, as Tehran continues its retaliation against American military strikes across the Gulf region. Kuwait's Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy posted a statement on X condemning what it called the "heinous Iranian aggression," saying the power and water desalination plant had been attacked for the second time in two days, setting parts of the station ablaze. The ministry added that firefighting crews were working to bring the fire under control. — AFP

Jordan's government spokesperson, as cited by the state news agency, stated today that authorities had not taken any decision to evacuate the airport or seaport in Aqaba, and that no potential threats had been detected in the area during the past several hours. The clarification followed an earlier statement by the US Embassy in Amman, which had said that Aqaba's international airport and seaport had been cleared due to a "specific and credible threat," without offering any further details. — Reuters

Iran's Atomic Energy Organization announced today that US forces had struck an under-construction nuclear power plant in the southwestern part of the country, as the military confrontation between Tehran and Washington continues to deepen. In a statement carried by state television, the organisation said American forces had fired "a number of projectiles" at the Darkhovin nuclear power plant — which remains unfinished — on Sunday, describing the strike as "an aggressive and brutal act contrary to international law." — AFP

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced on Sunday that two vessels suffered an 'accident' after they attempted to navigate the Strait of Hormuz through what it called an 'unsafe route,' while two other ships headed for that same corridor turned back without proceeding. The semi-official Tasnim news agency carried the report. The Guards alleged that all four ships had disregarded Iranian warnings and were acting under American direction. 'Vessels that heed the Americans and enter dangerous routes will inevitably run into accidents,' the Guards warned in a formal statement.

The armed forces of Kuwait and Bahrain confirmed on Sunday that they were actively countering Iranian aerial attacks, as air raid sirens rang out across both Gulf nations while Tehran pushed forward with its retaliatory strikes throughout the region. Kuwait's military said in a statement that its air defence units were presently battling 'hostile missile and drone attacks,' describing the onslaught as part of what it termed 'sinful Iranian aggression.' An AFP journalist on the ground in Kuwait City reported hearing the warning sirens sound across the capital. Bahrain, the small island kingdom that serves as home base for the U.S. Fifth Fleet, said its air defence systems had confronted, intercepted, and destroyed several of what it described as 'treacherous Iranian aerial attacks' directed at the country.

Air raid sirens sounded across the small Gulf kingdom of Bahrain on Sunday as Iran and the United States continued to exchange fresh blows in their struggle for dominance over the strategically crucial Strait of Hormuz. Bahrain's interior ministry issued a public statement saying, "The siren has been sounded. Citizens and residents are urged to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place." An AFP journalist on the ground independently confirmed that the warning signals had gone off in the country's capital, Manama.

Eight members of an Iranian Kurdish rebel organisation were injured in a drone strike that struck Iraq's Kurdistan region on Sunday, an exiled opposition group announced, laying the blame squarely on Iran. Northern Iraq's Kurdistan region has been repeatedly hit during the ongoing Middle East conflict. The area functions as a base for U.S. troops and foreign oil companies, and also hosts communities of exiled Iranian Kurdish fighters — all of whom have faced attacks carried out by Iran and by Iraqi armed groups operating within Tehran's sphere of influence. The renewed bloodshed in Kurdistan comes as the resumption of fighting between Washington and Tehran has reignited. Adib Khaldian of the exiled Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) told AFP that "at 02:00 a.m. (2300 GMT Saturday), Iranian forces attacked with a drone," targeting a camp belonging to the party situated near Erbil.

U.S. forces launched airstrikes on Sunday against Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in retaliation for the deaths of American troops in Jordan, sharply escalating the military confrontation between the two countries even as a provisional agreement intended to end the war has disintegrated. The strikes form part of a week-long campaign that erupted over the battle for control of the Strait of Hormuz and has since pulled U.S.-allied nations across the Middle East into the crossfire. Washington has already bombed bridges, electrical facilities, and other targets inside Iran, while Tehran responded by hitting Kuwait's power plants and water desalination infrastructure, placing daily life in that small, oil-rich desert nation in serious jeopardy. Iran has also signalled its intent to push its strikes further afield, a threat that drew a sharp overnight warning from the United Arab Emirates.

Kuwait's armed forces announced Saturday that they are actively engaged in countering a fresh round of aerial attacks launched by Iran — coming just one day after the Gulf nation absorbed Iranian barrages that damaged both a power station and an oil installation. The military issued a statement declaring that "Kuwaiti air defences are currently confronting hostile missile and drone attacks, following the sinful Iranian aggression," while an AFP journalist on the ground reported warning sirens sounding across Kuwait City.

The U.S. military announced Saturday that it has completed its most recent round of airstrikes against Iran, a campaign that included striking Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in retaliation for an Iranian attack that took the lives of American service members in Jordan. The U.S. military's Central Command said in its statement that the strikes also hit Iranian military facilities for coastal surveillance and air defence, as well as maritime assets and sites used to store missiles and drones. Tehran has released no comprehensive tally of the military equipment and assets it has lost during the American campaign, which has now stretched into its eighth consecutive day as the two nations contest dominance over the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow passage at the mouth of the Persian Gulf through which roughly one-fifth of the world's traded oil and natural gas flows during peacetime.

The U.S. Armed Forces announced fresh aerial strikes on Iran on Saturday, saying the action was intended to 'swiftly punish' Tehran's Revolutionary Guard Corps over an attack in Jordan that killed two American soldiers, left one service member unaccounted for, and sent four others to hospital. U.S. Central Command said the strikes were calibrated to further erode Iran's capacity to choke off oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Read more: American forces launched airstrikes on Iran in response to the killing of U.S. troops, with the operations aimed at breaking Tehran's grip on oil traffic control.

The Iranian Army stated on Saturday that it had struck two American military installations in Kuwait using drone attacks, framing the operation as payback for U.S. bombardment of Iranian territory. A statement aired by state television quoted the army as saying it had carried out "large-scale attacks with kamikaze drones" against the ammunition depot at Camp Udairi, as well as the Patriot radar and air-surveillance radar systems situated at Kuwait's Ali Al Salem Air Base. -AFP