Iran’s military said on Wednesday it launched a new wave of drone attacks targeting US military facilities in Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait, while Washington said it remained open to negotiations despite accusing Tehran of not taking diplomacy seriously.
According to Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB, the latest operation began on Wednesday morning and targeted US military infrastructure at Al-Azraq Air Base in Jordan and Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain.
Iranian forces claimed they struck housing and welfare facilities, along with equipment storage sites used by the US military at Al-Azraq Air Base. At Sheikh Isa Air Base, drones reportedly targeted large equipment warehouses and heavy aircraft maintenance and repair workshops.
There was no immediate response from Jordan or Bahrain regarding the claims.
The reported attacks came a day after Iran announced missile strikes on US-linked military targets in Jordan and Bahrain. Jordanian authorities said their air defence systems intercepted and destroyed several Iranian missiles and drones that entered the country’s airspace, while Bahrain’s military said it intercepted and destroyed multiple aerial threats after air raid sirens sounded across the kingdom.
Iran’s military also claimed it launched a separate wave of drone strikes on US military facilities in Kuwait. According to the semi-official Tasnim News Agency, Iranian forces used a large number of attack drones to strike ammunition depots and logistical equipment belonging to the US Army at Camp Doha in western Kuwait. Tehran said the attack targeted storage facilities and logistical equipment of the land forces command centre.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States remained willing to negotiate an end to the conflict but questioned Iran’s commitment to diplomacy.
Speaking during a meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers in Manila, Rubio said Washington had “always committed to diplomacy” but believed Tehran was not serious about talks.
“The problem we’re having right now is that they’re not serious about talks. If they’re serious, we’re serious. If they’re not, then we will do what’s necessary to protect our interests, and also the interests of our allies,” Rubio said.
Rubio made the remarks after three oil tankers carrying Saudi crude to Asia reversed course in the Red Sea on Tuesday, apparently in response to threats issued by Yemen’s Houthi movement.
The Houthis, who control territory along the southern Red Sea coastline, announced a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia on Monday, opening a potential new front in the conflict that has killed thousands since the war began on February 28 with US and Israeli attacks on Iran.
With Iran already threatening maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea has become the primary alternative route for millions of barrels of Saudi oil exports each day.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday that Tehran had received a proposal from mediators for a 10-day ceasefire aimed at preserving the interim truce signed between the US and Iran in June, which replaced an earlier ceasefire reached in April.
In another diplomatic development, Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni visited Pakistan and requested Islamabad to continue mediation efforts between Tehran and Washington.
Rubio stressed that Iran could not be allowed to control the Strait of Hormuz, warning that such a precedent would threaten global shipping and encourage similar actions elsewhere, including in Southeast Asia.
“If we create a precedent in the Middle East where a nation state can decide that they are going to control an international waterway, charge a toll, and if you don’t pay them, blow up your ships, we have created a very dangerous precedent, which will repeat itself in other parts of the world, including in this region,” Rubio said.
With no diplomatic breakthrough in sight, the US military carried out strikes across Iran for the 11th consecutive night on Tuesday. Residents in Tehran reported hearing explosions in the early hours of Wednesday as Iranian air defence systems were activated over the capital, according to the semi-official Fars News Agency.
Explosions were also reported in the southeastern coastal cities of Chabahar and Konarak, while two blasts were heard in Bushehr, home to Iran’s only nuclear power plant, according to the official IRNA news agency.
Earlier on Wednesday, Iran said it had targeted US military sites in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, while a tanker was reportedly hit in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran also claimed it struck infrastructure belonging to Amazon in Bahrain, where the US technology company operates a regional data centre. Amazon did not comment, and Reuters said it could not independently verify the claim.
US President Donald Trump confirmed that 18 US service members had been killed since the conflict began, including four who died in Iranian attacks on US military bases in Jordan and Iraq over the past several days.
Oil prices extended gains during Asian trading on Wednesday after rising more than 2% a day earlier. Brent crude traded above $91 per barrel, while US gasoline prices climbed back above $4 per gallon.
Separately, French shipping and logistics company CMA CGM announced it would impose an emergency surcharge from August 1 because of rising fuel costs linked to tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the company, the renewed escalation has sharply increased bunker fuel prices across global shipping routes, raising transportation costs. The surcharge will range from $65 to $165 per container and remain in place until further notice.
Iranian state media also reported that US forces struck several locations in Bushehr and Ilam provinces early Wednesday.
Ehsan Jahanian, deputy governor of Bushehr for political and security affairs, said explosions were reported in Bushehr and Dashti counties. He said one missile struck an area near Khormoj, the capital of Dashti County, but caused no casualties.
According to the semi-official Fars News Agency, electricity was restored about two hours later to the village of Bandarjah after a missile strike hit a power substation supplying the Bushehr nuclear power plant.
Separately, officials in Chavar city in western Ilam province said a missile strike caused a limited fire in nearby grassland, which was later extinguished. No casualties were reported.
In Minab, residents held a funeral procession for newly identified victims of the Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School strike, according to Tasnim News Agency.
The school was destroyed by a missile strike on February 28, the opening day of the war, killing more than 170 children and teachers. Large crowds attended the funeral carrying portraits of the victims and offering prayers.
Late on Tuesday, the US military announced it had completed its latest round of operations against Iran, marking the 11th consecutive night of American strikes.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces targeted Iranian military operations centres, maritime capabilities, aircraft hangars, drone storage facilities and military logistics infrastructure to reduce Tehran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
The strikes lasted about 75 minutes, according to the US military.
Washington also claimed Iran had attacked more than 30 commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz during the past three months.
The conflict began on February 28 when the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran, prompting Iranian retaliatory strikes against Israel and Gulf states hosting US military bases. The war has also included Israeli operations in Lebanon and has killed thousands of civilians, destroyed homes and displaced millions, according to reports.
Iranian health ministry officials said recent US strikes killed 50 civilians and wounded around 500 others.
The number of US troop deaths has meanwhile risen to 18.
On Monday, President Trump vowed retaliation after Iranian attacks on US forces, while last week he threatened to expand American strikes to include Iran’s energy facilities and bridges.
The 1949 Geneva Conventions prohibit attacks on infrastructure considered essential for civilian life. Following Trump’s previous threats to strike such sites, international law experts in the United States said such attacks could amount to war crimes.
In a letter sent to shipping companies, Yemen’s Houthis warned they would target any vessel loading or unloading Saudi oil.
Trump said the Houthis had not yet blocked the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, also known as the “Gate of Tears,” but warned the United States would respond if they did.
“So far it hasn’t happened,” Trump said. “If something like that happens, we take care of it.”
Three oil tankers carrying Saudi crude for China and India turned back in the Red Sea on Tuesday, heading toward the Suez Canal instead of sailing past the Yemeni coast.
Throughout the conflict, Saudi Arabia has reduced shipping disruptions by transporting oil through pipelines to the Red Sea port of Yanbu. However, a complete Houthi blockade of that route could significantly reduce global oil supplies by trapping most Saudi crude exports.
Trump also renewed his threat on Tuesday to strike Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility again “pretty soon.” He reiterated his claim that the site had been “totally obliterated” by US airstrikes in June 2025, while Iran vowed it would retaliate against any further attacks.