The US Central Command said it has successfully concluded the 13th night in a row of large-scale strikes on targets in Iran. According to US forces, the attacks focused on the country’s southern and south-western provinces. Iranian sources report four deaths and seven injuries in the provinces of Khuzestan and Hormozgan, as well as damage in several cities.
In Khuzestan province, the strikes hit the outskirts of the city of Ahvaz, where four people were killed and five others were wounded. Explosions were heard in seven areas of the city. The cities of Omidiyeh and Andimeshk were also targeted. In Hormozgan, Bander Abbas was affected: two people were injured and the power grid was damaged. Explosions were heard in the city of Jask and on the island of Qeshm. Iranian air defences were activated in Tehran to repel “hostile targets.”
In response to the US attacks, Iran said it carried out strikes on US bases in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait using “Arash” drones and other weaponry. The targets included fuel storage facilities and places where servicemembers were housed at the Sheikh Isa base in Bahrain, as well as hangars and residential areas at the El-Azraq base in Jordan. Later, Iranian command said it carried out attacks on Kuwaiti bases at Doha, Arifjan and El-Adiri.
Kuwait officially stated that its air defence systems intercepted “hostile missile attacks and drones” following “criminal Iranian aggression.” The Kuwaiti army’s General Staff explained that any sounds of explosions may have been linked to targets being intercepted by air-defence means.
The escalation is taking place amid the collapse of the June memorandum of understanding, which envisaged a ceasefire and the start of negotiations. However, US President Donald Trump announced on 8 July that he was withdrawing from the agreement after attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, which Washington blamed on Tehran. Since then, US strikes on Iran and Iranian retaliatory attacks against facilities in the region have become daily.
The United States is calling for an immediate halt to attacks on merchant ships and guarantees of freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran, in turn, insists on introducing its own mechanism to monitor ship transit in coastal waters. This position raises concerns about a global disruption to oil and gas supplies, as the strait is a key energy route. Negotiations have so far produced no results, while military activity continues to intensify.
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What is the significance of Khuzestan province for Iran’s economy and politics, especially the city of Ahvaz? — Khuzestan is Iran’s “oil heart,” home to more than 80% of the country’s proven oil reserves (including the largest Ahvaz field). The city of Ahvaz is the province’s administrative and industrial hub. Politically, the region has a dual importance: on the one hand, it generates enormous revenue for the budget; on the other, it remains an area of ethnic tension due to a large Arab-speaking community, which periodically triggers protests and requires Tehran to balance economic exploitation with social control.
What are Iran’s “Arash” drones and what role do they play in Iran’s military strategy? — “Arash” is a family of Iranian loitering munitions (kamikaze drones) with a flight range of between 200 and 2,000 km, depending on the modification. They are designed to strike specific targets, including air-defence systems, warehouses, and command posts. In Iran’s military strategy, “Arash” is part of the doctrine of “asymmetric deterrence”: these drones are cheap to produce, can be launched in large numbers, overwhelming the enemy’s air-defence systems—allowing Iran to strike at long distances without risking pilots.
What was the “June memorandum of understanding” between the United States and Iran, and why was it scrapped? — The reference is to an unsigned draft of a temporary agreement in 2022–2023, discussed with the mediation of Oman and Qatar. The memorandum involved the unfreezing of Iranian assets (up to ~US$6 billion frozen in South Korea) in exchange for limiting uranium enrichment to 60% and releasing several foreign detainees. It was derailed for several reasons: tightened domestic repression in Iran after the 2022 protests, growing pressure from Israel and US Republicans, as well as Tehran’s demand for guarantees that a future American administration would not withdraw from the deal—something the Biden administration could not legally ensure.
Full version: Dead and injured in US airstrikes on Iran, Tehran strikes Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait