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Russia-Ukraine War 2026
13MAY

Iran fires back across the Gulf again

2 min read
20:00UTC

Kuwait intercepted Iranian missiles and drones on 14 July while Bahrain sounded air-raid sirens, and Iran's strikes again reached Jordan after the blockade order.

← Back to 800 drones, three ceasefires, one cliffJump to analysis ↓
ConflictAssessed
Key takeaway

Iran's Gulf-wide barrage now answers the blockade order itself, while its US-base destruction claims stay unconfirmed.

Kuwait reported intercepting Iranian missiles and drones on 14 July while Bahrain sounded air-raid sirens, and Iran's strikes again reached Jordan 1. The reprisal cycle itself is familiar: Iran fired on Azraq air base and three Gulf states on 9 July , answering CENTCOM's earlier 90-target wave.

This barrage followed the blockade order and the fourth strike night rather than another round of CENTCOM sorties, which ties Iran's Gulf-wide retaliation directly to the enforcement move. Iranian domestic outlets went further, claiming the IRGC destroyed US positions at Camp Arifjan and Ali Al Salem in Kuwait and at Juffair and Sheikh Isa in Bahrain 2.

No US or Gulf source has confirmed any such hit, and the same Farsi coverage frames the war as a mutual exchange in "southern waters and military centres" while omitting the blockade entirely. The claim sits with a long run of unverified IRGC base-strike boasts, and it is recorded here as an assertion, not a fact.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

Every time the US tightens the blockade, Iran fires back at the Gulf countries hosting American bases rather than at US forces themselves, letting Tehran show retaliation without directly provoking the kind of response that would follow an attack on American troops.

Deep Analysis
Root Causes

The retaliation follows the escalation ladder Iran has run since early June: each CENTCOM strike on Iranian territory or the reinstated blockade is answered with missile and drone fire against the Gulf states hosting US forces, Kuwait's Ali Al Salem and Bahrain's Fifth Fleet headquarters among the recurring targets, rather than against US assets directly.

Jordan's repeated inclusion, despite having no coastline on the strait, reflects its symbolic role in Iran's response pattern rather than any direct Hormuz stake, extending the template set on 9 July.

Escalation

Sideways for now: Iran is hitting Gulf host states rather than US forces directly. The trigger to watch is whether the IRGC's claimed strikes on US positions in Kuwait and Bahrain are ever verified, which would remove that calibration.

What could happen next?
  • Risk

    If the IRGC's claimed strikes on US positions in Kuwait and Bahrain are later confirmed, the calibrated pattern of hitting host states rather than American forces breaks down, raising the odds of a direct US response.

Sources:Al Jazeera·Entekhab
Mentions:Iran →Kuwait →Bahrain →Jordan →Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) →Camp Arifjan →Juffair →IISS →Qatar →Tehran →Washington →CENTCOM (US Central Command) →
First Reported In

Update #154 · US enforces Hormuz closure with blockade

Al Jazeera· 15 Jul 2026
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Causes and effects
Caused by
Iran hits Jordan and three Gulf states
The 14 July Gulf retaliation extends the 9 July Azraq/Gulf-states strike cycle, this time tied directly to the naval blockade.
Occurred 9 Jul 2026
Read story →
This Event
Iran fires back across the Gulf again
Iran's retaliation now tracks the blockade order and strike nights directly, tying its Gulf-wide fire to Washington's enforcement move rather than a fresh sortie.
Different Perspectives
Turkey
Turkey
Turkey, a major buyer of Russian diesel cargoes, loses that access under Moscow's first producer-binding export ban, in force from 8 July to 31 July. Ankara hosted the same week's NATO summit pledging EUR 70bn to Ukraine, sitting on both sides of the fuel-and-alliance ledger.
NATO
NATO
NATO leaders meeting in Ankara on 7 and 8 July pledged EUR 70bn in equipment, assistance and training for Ukraine across 2026, with a 2027 sustainment commitment and a $40bn Drone Edge counter-drone initiative. European allies now fund the vast majority of that package, filling the gap left by Washington's idled crude waiver.
India
India
India's state refiners continued buying discounted Urals crude as June's price fell to $63.18 a barrel, insulating New Delhi from the OFAC waiver gap still constraining Western buyers. Indian refiners could pick up diesel-export share as Russia's producer-binding ban shuts out its former customers.
China
China
China's independent refiners kept importing discounted Urals crude through June as the price fell to $63.18 a barrel, down 26% month-on-month per CREA. Beijing has said nothing on Moscow's new diesel ban, leaving Chinese refiners a likely beneficiary if Turkish and Brazilian buyers seek replacement cargoes.
United States
United States
No successor licence has been issued since General License 134C lapsed on 17 June, leaving a 26-day gap, the longest of the war, in the Russian crude waiver. Washington's silence is tightening the channel without any stated decision, as Treasury weighs whether to let it die.
Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine's long-range strike campaign shifted from refineries to seaborne fuel tankers crossing the Sea of Azov, cutting tracked vessel traffic 55% between 30 June and 11 July, per Starboard Maritime Intelligence. The shift targets Russia's export revenue directly rather than just domestic supply, adding pressure alongside the collapsing Urals price.