The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) has said that it struck dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets in Iran overnight on Wednesday.
The IRGC said on Thursday it would hit back against the “aggressor”, with Kuwait and Jordan targeted in suspected Iranian strikes on Thursday morning. One worker was killed after a building belonging to a Chinese company was targeted in Kuwait.
Here is a recap of what happened, and what’s next.
Where did the US target Iran?
CENTCOM said it attacked military command centres, missile and drone facilities, coastal surveillance and defence sites and maritime capabilities in Iran. However, it did not reveal specifics or exact locations of these targets within the country.
This came after US President Donald Trump said at the White House that Iran will be “hit very hard” after the IRGC launched a ballistic missile attack on a US base in Jordan on Wednesday. Egypt was also targeted in a drone strike on Thursday.
Explosions were heard in several locations in southern Iran following the launch of the US attacks, local outlet Press TV reported on Thursday.
Qeshm island
Three explosions were heard on Qeshm island, inside the city, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Thursday. The outlet added that residents said a missile struck a residential area. A couple and their child were killed in a strike.
Fars province
Tasnim added that US forces hit the southwestern Fars province, where US forces targeted an area on the outskirts of the city of Kazerun, the outlet reported.
Kish island
Tasnim reported that explosions were also heard on the island of Kish in the Gulf.
It said two loud explosions were heard on Kish following a missile strike, but quoted authorities as saying that operations at the island’s airport and passenger ferry services remain unaffected.
Bushehr province
Explosions were heard in Bushehr province, where Iran’s only nuclear power plant is located, according to the IRIB state broadcaster on Thursday.
The US military targeted three cities in the province of Bushehr overnight, IRIB added. No casualties were reported.
Khuzestan province
IRIB quoted a deputy security minister in the southwestern Khuzestan province as saying that US forces targeted “some locations in Abadan”.
At least seven locations in the province’s Ahvaz city were hit, the IRIB state broadcaster added.
Power outages were reported in some parts of Ahvaz, Tasnim news agency reported.
Hormozgan province
Additionally, Tasnim reported that two explosions were heard in the port city of Bandar Abbas in Hormozgan province, and that “similar sounds” were heard on the islands of Abu Musa, Kish and Qeshm.
It quoted a senior Hormozgan province official as saying there have been no attacks on the city of Sirik.
Qeshm city
Iran’s IRIB state broadcaster reported on Thursday that two people are trapped under rubble following the US strike on a residential building on Qeshm.
Quoting the deputy governor of Hormozgan province, IRIB said the building in the Chah-Tango neighbourhood of Qeshm city was “hit by enemy projectiles,” and that “search and rescue operations are under way to save the trapped individuals with all available resources”.
Tasnim reported that power has been fully restored across Qeshm following a temporary blackout caused by a missile strike on the electrical grid.
What do we know about the damage and casualties?
The Fars news agency reported on Thursday that three people have been killed in the US attack on the residential building in Qeshm.
Citing the Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Fars said the victims were a couple and their two-year-old child. Two other children, aged seven and nine, were wounded and remain in hospital. A third child was recovered from the rubble.
The building struck by US forces was reportedly home to a family of five.
Two more people are believed to be trapped under the rubble. Search and rescue operations continue for people trapped, with officials confirming that the two people pulled from the debris and taken to hospital earlier were children.
The director-general of crisis management for the Hormozgan governorate told IRIB that “efforts are ongoing to rescue three other members of this family”.
How did Iran react?
The IRGC said that “with the help of God Almighty, the aggressor will be punished today,” according to Iran’s Fars news agency, quoting the IRGC’s public relations.
Early on Thursday morning, the Jordanian Armed Forces again said their air defence systems intercepted and shot down five missiles launched from Iran targeting the kingdom’s territory.
Kuwait’s Defence Ministry announced on Thursday that one worker has been killed in an Iranian attack that targeted a building belonging to a Chinese company in the country’s north.
What’s next?
Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar Atas, reporting from Tehran on Thursday, said Iran is expected to target US military bases in response to the US attacks. Kuwait and Bahrain have been heavily targeted in recent weeks by Iranian strikes.
There are also wider fears of the war expanding geographically.
The conflict has already spilled over to the Red Sea, where Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis have announced a blockade and targeted Saudi‑flagged ships. Ukraine also said on Saturday that it had hit vessels carrying Iranian‑linked military cargo in the Caspian Sea.
Egypt has confirmed that a fire that damaged two ships at the Mediterranean port of Damietta on Wednesday was caused by a drone attack.
In a statement, the Egyptian Cabinet said initial investigations had determined the fire was caused by a drone, but that no party had claimed responsibility. It said authorities were investigating the circumstances of the strike to protect Egypt’s interests and national security.
On Wednesday, Iran fired several ballistic missiles at US military installations in Jordan, and the US and Saudi Arabia launched attacks on Iran-backed groups in Iraq.
Burcu Ozcelik, a senior research fellow for Middle East security at the United Kingdom-based think tank Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) told Al Jazeera that the most likely scenario is a continuation of tit-for-tat military strikes between Iran and the US while diplomatic efforts, with the engagement of Gulf states, continue in parallel.
“The real danger is that this settles into a prolonged period of sustained confrontation, where regular military exchanges become the norm rather than the exception,” Ozcelik said.
“The moment to watch for is a direct attack that prompts a collective Gulf military response against Iran, as well as the threat that the Houthis escalate in the Bab al-Mandeb.”
