Tehran launched strikes against several countries across the Gulf and the wider region overnight as the United States military intensified its attacks on Iran. Reports on Friday morning indicated that Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Jordan, and Syria had to take defensive measures against Iranian missiles and drones amid a sixth night of US strikes on Iran.
The escalating US air campaign has targeted civilian infrastructure in southern Iran, including telecommunications networks, railway systems, and the Bandar-e Khamir bridge in Hormozgan province, where local media reported at least seven fatalities on Thursday night.
Tehran has defended its actions against Gulf and other states by claiming it is targeting US facilities in the region, asserting that Washington has utilized its bases there as launch sites for strikes on Iran. In Qatar, which hosts significant US military installations, the security threat level was raised after loud explosions were reported in parts of the capital, Doha, early Friday morning. Residents received security alerts on their mobile devices, and Qatar’s security threat level increased again following the initial alert, although the situation later returned to “normal” after the threats were assessed.
The Qatari Ministry of Interior confirmed on Friday morning that a child was receiving medical care for injuries sustained from falling shrapnel during the assault. Earlier, Qatar dismissed Israeli reports suggesting it was planning to engage in military action against Iran.
According to a report from Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, the Iranian army claimed to have targeted US helicopters and reconnaissance aircraft at the Sakhir airbase in Bahrain. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) asserted it had successfully targeted US monitoring assets in Oman. The military stated it destroyed a US air control radar in the northern Ghanim region and a maritime surveillance radar located in the Strait of Hormuz.
The IRGC declared that the crucial shipping waterway, central to the ongoing conflict between the US and Iran, “remains in the hands of the IRGC Navy’s admirals.” Additionally, the IRGC reported an attack on a US military base in Kuwait, targeting a missile defense radar, multiple weapons depots, and two HIMARS surface-to-surface missile launchers.
In northern Iraq, Kurdish counterterrorism forces reported that US coalition forces shot down eight explosive drones over the city of Erbil, with no casualties reported. The Jordanian army announced its air defense systems intercepted three Iranian missiles transiting its airspace on Friday morning, also with no reported casualties as engineering teams managed falling debris. The IRGC claimed to have attacked a US special operations command center at the al-Tanf military base in Syria, according to a report from Tasnim news agency.
Call to Return to ‘Hard-Won’ Deal
As hostilities between the US and Iran escalate, raising concerns about broader regional implications and potential impacts on the global economy, efforts to encourage both Washington and Tehran to return to negotiations are intensifying. China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar called for an immediate ceasefire and the resumption of dialogue, hoping to preserve a tentative ceasefire agreed upon last month.
Both countries have attempted to mediate in the ongoing conflict, which reignited with renewed clashes over the Strait of Hormuz just one month after a preliminary deal was signed to end the war. Wang emphasized that the agreement was “hard-won,” stating, “Peace is before our eyes; we cannot fall at the last hurdle and cannot lose what we have gained.”
Iran has reported that 38 people have been killed and over 400 injured in US attacks since the two sides engaged in discussions in Switzerland on June 22, aimed at resolving the conflict through a 60-day negotiation period, according to AFP.
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/17/gulf-states-come-under-iranian-fire-as-us-strikes-intensify
