US-Iran war LIVE: 3 killed in US strikes on Iran, Chabahar port hit; Tehran hits American bases in Kuwait, Bahrain

US-Iran war LIVE: Oil prices rose by more than 1 per cent on Thursday after the United States launched another round of strikes on Iran, weakening hopes of negotiations to end the conflict and delaying expectations of the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route that carried around one fifth of global oil supplies before the war.

Brent crude futures gained 86 cents, or 1.1 per cent, to $78.88 a barrel by 0352 GMT. United States West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 85 cents, or 1.2 per cent, to $74.37 a barrel, news agency Reuters reported.

Both Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude advanced by more than a dollar in after-hours trading on Wednesday after the US military began its latest wave of strikes on Iran.

US-Iran war LIVE: Iranian state media reported explosions in several parts of the country, including Bushehr, where Iran’s nuclear power plant complex is located, as well as the southern port cities of Chabahar, Konarak, Bandar Abbas and Sirik.

In Iranshahr, officials said an airport firefighter was killed in one of the strikes.

For the first time since April, US strikes also appeared to have targeted bridges in Iran. State media reported an attack on a railway bridge in the north-eastern province of Golestan, while the IRGC said two bridges on the route to Mashhad had been struck.

Iranian authorities are expected to bury the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Mashhad on Thursday. However, it was not immediately clear whether the bridge in Golestan was one of the two mentioned by the IRGC.

US-Iran war LIVE: Gold prices slipped on Thursday, remaining close to the one-week low touched in the previous session, as renewed hostilities between the United States and Iran pushed oil prices higher and revived concerns over inflation and the prospect of interest rates staying elevated for longer.

Spot gold was down 0.4 per cent at $4,060.46 an ounce by 0343 GMT, after falling to its lowest level since July 1 on Wednesday. US gold futures for August delivery also declined 0.3 per cent to $4,069.80 an ounce, news agency Reuters reported.

US-Iran war LIVE: Iran’s Fars news agency reported that US forces carried out an attack near the city of Ahvaz in the western province of Khuzestan during the early hours of Thursday, leaving a “number of people” injured.

The report cited a senior security official from the Khuzestan Governor’s Office.

The official said medical and emergency response teams had been dispatched to the area and added that authorities were continuing to assess the full extent of the damage.

US-Iran war LIVE: Shipping activity through the Strait of Hormuz almost came to a halt on Thursday after the United States carried out a second consecutive day of strikes on Iran, raising fresh doubts over the stability of the fragile truce between the two countries.

Ship-tracking data showed that most vessel movements through the crucial global energy route were taking place along a route approved by Iran closer to the northern side of the strait, while the Oman corridor, backed by the US, saw little activity, Bloomberg reported.

Among the larger vessels, only a US-sanctioned supertanker leaving the Persian Gulf and an Iranian-flagged container ship were observed passing through the strait. However, it remains possible that some ships crossed the waterway with their transponders switched off.

US-Iran war LIVE: US military officials said that approximately 90 Iranian military targets were hit in their latest strikes, targeting air defense systems, missile and drone storage sites, and other assets.

The United States “completed an additional round of strikes against Iran, July 8, to further degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping and innocent civilian mariners in the Strait of Hormuz,” according to a statement posted to X by US Central Command (CENTCOM).

US-Iran war LIVE: The US military said Thursday it had ended its latest round of airstrikes targeting Iran after hitting some 90 targets.

The US military’s Central Command made the statement.

It released black-and-white footage of what appeared to be strikes targeting an airport runway and missile launchers.

“US forces remain vigilant, lethal, and prepared to execute operations directed by the Commander in Chief,” it added.

US-Iran war LIVE: After departing the NATO summit in Turkey, Trump shared several videos on his social media platform that he said showed explosions in Iran. He also issued another warning to the Islamic Republic.

“This is in retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse!” Trump wrote.

Earlier in the day, Trump said the latest exchange of attacks was not expected to turn into a “long-term” military campaign.

“Anything that happens is going to happen very fast,” Trump said, while also suggesting that the US military might “just finish the job.”

US-Iran war LIVE: The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the strikes on Bahrain and Kuwait were carried out in response to attacks on Iran’s southern coastal provinces and on “two bridges in the eastern provinces towards the holy city of Mashhad”.

Mashhad is the city where Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is due to be buried later on Thursday.

The IRGC claimed the US launched the attacks in an attempt to overshadow what it described as the “historic” funeral ceremony.

It also warned that if the US carries out further attacks, Iran’s “crushing responses would be expanded to include other American bases in the region”.

(Inputs from Al Jazeera)

US-Iran war LIVE: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had targeted US military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain and warned that its operations could be expanded further, Iranian state media reported.

US-Iran war LIVE: Bahrain activated its missile warning sirens once again after Iran launched retaliatory attacks in response to US airstrikes targeting the country.

US-Iran war LIVE: Iran’s chief negotiator said Thursday that the Strait of Hormuz would be opened only under “Iranian arrangements”, after Tehran and Washington traded strikes in West Asia.

“The United States still has not learned that bullying and breaking its promises no longer come without consequences,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on X. “Let me be clear: If you strike, you will be struck.”

US-Iran war LIVE: Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar sounded missile alert sirens early Thursday morning warning of an Iranian attack after the United States launched a new round of airstrikes targeting Iran.

There was no immediate word of damage in the three Gulf Arab countries. Kuwait’s military said it was actively intercepting incoming drones and missiles.

US-Iran war LIVE: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said a US cruise missile struck the Aq Taka Khan bridge area in Aqqala, located in the northern province of Golestan, according to Iran’s Fars news agency.

The IRGC’s Golestan branch said the attack did not cause any casualties and warned that it would respond with a “crushing” retaliation.

US-Iran war LIVE: Oil prices edgeed higher on Thursday after the US launched another round of strikes on Iran, reducing expectations that the conflict would end soon and raising fresh concerns over the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude futures gained 78 cents, or 1 per cent, to $78.8 a barrel by 0054 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed 74 cents, or 1.01 per cent, to $74.26 a barrel.

Both Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude extended their gains in after-hours trading on Wednesday, rising by more than a dollar after the United States military began carrying out fresh strikes on Iran.

US-Iran war LIVE: In a post on social media, military officials said the latest operation was aimed at “further degrade” Iran’s ability “to threaten freedom of navigation” through the Strait of Hormuz. Before the conflict began with US and Israeli strikes on February 28, around one-fifth of the world’s traded oil and natural gas passed through the waterway.

Iranian state media reported explosions in several areas, including Bushehr, where Iran’s nuclear power plant complex is located, as well as the southern port cities of Chabahar, Konarak, Bandar Abbas and Sirik.

After departing a NATO summit in Turkey, Trump shared several videos on his social media platform that he claimed showed explosions inside Iran. He also issued another warning to the Islamic Republic.

US-Iran war LIVE: Kuwait’s air defences were intercepting “hostile missile and drone attacks”, its military said on Thursday.

“The General Staff of the Army notes that any explosions heard are a result of air defense systems intercepting hostile attacks,” the Kuwait military said in a post on X, without specifying their origin.

US-Iran war LIVE: The US military said on Wednesday it had launched a fresh round of strikes on Iran to ensure the Strait of Hormuz remained open to maritime traffic.

The operation came just hours after Trump declared that the interim agreement aimed at ending the war was “over.”

The latest US strikes were launched in response to Tuesday’s attack on three cargo ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The strikes shook several cities along Iran’s southern coastline and caused power outages in some areas.

“US Central Command forces have started conducting additional strikes against Iran to further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” CENTCOM, the US military’s West Asia command, wrote on X.