Iran attacks US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, threatens to suspend all diplomatic talks

Escalation on Sunday

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) attacked US military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain on Sunday, claiming to have destroyed eight major infrastructure targets. Kuwait reported a hostile drone and missile assault, with its army saying air defences responded. Bahrain, home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, activated air-raid alarms and said its forces had repelled several Iranian attempts over the previous hours. No deaths were initially reported, though a residential building in Bahrain was damaged.

The IRGC's naval command threatened that American bases in the region would experience "hell" in the coming days, and vowed a "ruthless response" to any hostile act, "even against insignificant targets."

Diplomatic talks in jeopardy

The same IRGC statement threatened a "complete halt" of all diplomatic processes with the United States, accusing Washington of violating a 60‑day ceasefire agreed on 17 June. State‑owned Press TV, cited by the Times of Israel, quoted the Guards saying US strikes had "caused the total suspension of all diplomatic processes."

Any hostile aggression, under any pretext, even against insignificant targets, will be met with a ruthless response.

The preliminary accord, signed after months of war since late February, paused hostilities and gave the sides two months to negotiate a permanent deal. A first direct session was held in Switzerland on 21–22 June, with an understanding that technical‑level talks would follow, but no such meetings have been reported since.

US military response and Trump's threat

Sunday's strikes came a day after US forces bombed Iran for a second time, hitting missile and drone depots and coastal radar stations in retaliation for an Iranian attack on a Panama‑flagged tanker near the Strait of Hormuz. That tanker was carrying over two million barrels of oil. A day earlier, Washington had already struck Iranian sites after a Singapore‑flagged commercial vessel was hit.

President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that American planes had attacked Iran's missile and drone warehouses and radar stations "for violating the ceasefire agreement – AGAIN!" He warned that if the US was forced to resume full hostilities, "the Islamic Republic of Iran will cease to exist," adding, "very possibly, they never learn."

Very possibly, they never learn! There may come a moment when we can no longer be reasonable and are forced to finish militarily what we started very effectively. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will cease to exist!

Regional and international reactions

Bahrain's foreign ministry condemned Iran's "deliberate and repeated" violations of its sovereignty and security and requested an urgent UN Security Council session to hold Iran accountable. Kuwait also condemned the attack on its territory. The exchange is the gravest test yet of a ceasefire already strained after the first ship attack since the June agreement.

Background: the June ceasefire

Under the 17 June preliminary deal, Iran pledged to ensure safe passage for commercial shipping in return for the lifting of a US port blockade. But on Thursday, the IRGC warned vessels to travel only through lanes designated by Iran, and the same day a Singapore‑flagged vessel was struck – the first such incident since the truce. That triggered a cycle of reprisals that culminated in Sunday's direct attacks on US bases.