Iran launches missile and drone attacks on US targets across Middle East

Iran has launched missile and drone attacks against US targets across the Middle East after American forces resumed strikes on Iran, in a major escalation of the conflict between the two countries.

Iranian attacks have been reported in Kuwait, Jordan, Iraq and Bahrain, while Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said two oil tankers struck mines while attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz.

The latest Iranian attacks followed US strikes on Iranian targets. The US military said it was responding to what it described as recent attempted attacks on American forces and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

The US military said it does not target civilians and that its operations were directed at Iranian targets.

Iranian authorities have reported civilian casualties from the US strikes.

The Iranian Red Crescent said four people, including a child, were killed when shrapnel from a US missile struck a house during a wedding celebration in southern Iran.

Iranian media initially reported five deaths. The casualty figures have not been independently verified.

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who was involved in talks with the United States earlier this year, condemned the US military action.

The latest exchange has also raised fresh concerns over the Strait of Hormuz, a major global shipping route.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has issued claims involving commercial vessels in the waterway, while Washington has cited threats to shipping as part of the justification for its military operations. Agencies