Iran strikes US bases in response to attacks

Iran said on Wednesday it had struck several military bases of the United States in the region in retaliation for the latest wave of U.S. attacks on Iran, further straining the ceasefire after Iran and Israel traded missile attacks in a recent major escalation.

Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said Wednesday that it launched a drone attack on the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain in response to the U.S. attacks on southern Iran, adding that it downed a U.S. MQ-9 drone in Iran's Bushehr Province.

The IRGC said it also targeted Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait with drones, as well as four sites at the U.S. al-Azraq base in Jordan using long-range missiles, Iranian media reported.

"In the event of continued hostility, heavier responses are on the way," the IRGC said in a statement.

The U.S. strikes began at 17:00 ET (2100 GMT) Tuesday, according to the U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East.

The command said it struck Iranian air defense, ground control stations and surveillance radar sites near the strait with munitions from the U.S. Air Force and Navy fighter jets.

A series of explosions was reported early Wednesday in the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, as well as Qeshm Island and Sirik County, triggering the activation of air defenses, the state-run IRIB news agency said, citing sources.

Meanwhile, the IRGC said that U.S. forces attacked several locations in Jask, Sirik and Qeshm, damaging a telecommunications mast and destroying two water tanks in Sirik.

Hours later, the command said it had completed strikes against Iran, which was confirmed by the IRIB.

The latest wave of U.S. attacks came after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that Tehran had shot down a U.S. Apache helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz, vowing "very strong, very powerful" response.

However, the IRIB news agency quoted a military source as saying that "no offensive aerial military operation was carried out" over the Strait of Hormuz within the past 24 hours.

Iran strikes US bases in response to attacks

The United Nations (UN) is pressing Israel to reopen more Gaza crossings, warning that reliance on a single entry point has left humanitarian aid bottlenecked despite the limited reopening of Kerem Shalom.

Israel on Tuesday reopened Kerem Shalom, the enclave’s sole cargo crossing, after a two-day closure reportedly triggered by an Iranian missile attack, UN spokesman Farhan Haq said during a press conference at the UN headquarters.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs confirmed the reopening, noting Kerem Shalom remains Gaza's only entry point for approved relief cargo.

Haq stressed that humanitarian needs remain urgent, while Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated his call for Israel to reopen all crossings to ensure safe and unhindered aid delivery.

"The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that today Israeli authorities reopened the Kerem Shalom crossing, which remains the only crossing point for approved cargo to enter Gaza. Meanwhile, the UN and our humanitarian partners continue to respond to people's needs, despite bureaucratic hurdles and funding shortfalls, to maintain the response and reach as many vulnerable people as possible," said Haq.

UN officials say the reopening does little to ease the crisis, with Guterres warning that only full access across Gaza’s borders can meet urgent humanitarian needs.

"Mr. Guterres is also deeply concerned by the decision by Israel to close crossings into Gaza. He reiterates his call for the immediate reopening of all crossings to ensure the rapid, safe and unhindered passage of humanitarian assistance at scale throughout Gaza," Haq said.

UN presses Israel to reopen more Gaza crossings as aid bottleneck deepens