Explosions on Iran's Kharg Island; Tehran targets Kuwait, Bahrain

Explosions rocked Iran's Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf on Saturday night, a critical center for the country's crude oil exports. The semi-official Fars news agency reported the blasts.

Earlier in the day, Iran had launched strikes against Kuwait and Bahrain. Tehran claimed these actions were in response to American attacks, despite a previous ceasefire. This escalation further complicates stalled negotiations, particularly concerning frozen Iranian assets. Hostilities between the U.S. and Iran had largely ceased after an April 8 ceasefire but recently resumed, especially around the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil shipping route that Iran has previously threatened to close.

The renewed exchange of fire occurred as the Iranian national football team arrived in Mexico, their base for the upcoming World Cup co-hosted by the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. While the players secured visas for the U.S. matches, Iran protested "discriminatory treatment" after some team staff were denied entry.

Kuwait and Bahrain, which had already been targeted earlier in the week, condemned the Iranian attacks as "blatant assaults" and a "dangerous escalation." The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps had announced they fired ballistic missiles at Kuwait's Ali al-Salem air base, housing U.S. aircraft, and the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain. Rim, an Egyptian resident of Kuwait, described waking up to "deafening explosions" that terrified her children.

U.S. Central Command reported that six missiles were intercepted and a seventh missed its target. They also noted Iranian drones were launched toward the Strait of Hormuz, posing an "immediate threat" to maritime traffic. These actions followed previous U.S. strikes on Iranian coastal radar sites in Goruk and Qeshm Island, which Iran deemed a "flagrant violation of the ceasefire."