Iran strikes Bahrain and Kuwait as fragile U.S. ceasefire comes under pressure

Last updated: June 28, 2026

For readers in Canada, this is not a distant Gulf crisis: the fighting is centred on the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway the supplied reports describe as carrying about 20 percent of the world's oil and a major share of LNG supplies before the war. Iran said it launched missiles and drones at U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait after new American strikes on Iranian targets. Bahrain said air defences intercepted and destroyed a number of attacks, while Kuwait said it intercepted two ballistic missiles with no damage or casualties.

Context & Background

The latest exchange follows a U.S.-Iran interim agreement signed earlier in June that was meant to halt hostilities and restore safer commercial movement through the Strait of Hormuz. The deal gave both sides 60 days to work through unresolved issues, including navigation through the strait and the future of Iran's highly enriched uranium stockpile, according to the supplied AP report.

The strait is central to the crisis because Iran had restricted the waterway during the war, leaving hundreds of ships blocked inside the Gulf. AP reported that traffic had started to improve, with 125 vessels crossing last week, up from 33 the week before, though still below the prewar daily average cited by S&P Global.

Here's What Happened

The escalation began around commercial shipping. U.S. Central Command said American Navy and Air Force jets struck 10 Iranian military targets in and near the Strait of Hormuz after what it described as Iranian aggression against commercial vessels. The targets included military surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defence sites, drone storage facilities and mine-laying capabilities, according to the BBC account.

Iran's IRGC then said it launched ballistic missiles and drones at the Ali Al Salem airbase in Kuwait and the U.S. Fifth Naval Fleet at Port Salman in Bahrain. Al Jazeera reported that the IRGC framed the strikes as retaliation for U.S. attacks on Iranian sites, including Sirik, Bandar-e Lengeh and Qeshm Island.

Bahrain said Iran targeted it with a number of ballistic missiles and drones, calling the attack a dangerous escalation. CNN reported that a residential building in Muharraq governorate suffered heavy damage, but Bahrain's Interior Ministry said no one was killed. The Bahrain Defense Force said all branches of the armed forces were at the highest level of alert and warned residents not to approach debris or suspicious objects.

Kuwait also condemned the strikes, describing them as repeated Iranian attacks and a breach of its sovereignty. Its army said air defences intercepted two ballistic missiles with no damage or casualties, while a U.S. official cited in multiple reports said there were no reported U.S. casualties or major damage to U.S. facilities in the Middle East.

The Response

Both Washington and Tehran accused the other side of violating the ceasefire framework. CENTCOM said Iran had been given a chance to honour the agreement but chose not to after a drone attack on the Panama-flagged MT Kiku tanker. Iran's Foreign Ministry said the U.S. strikes were a clear violation of the ceasefire memorandum and the United Nations charter.

There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started.

The IRGC said any further aggression would draw a crushing response and warned that violating the ceasefire would halt diplomatic processes. Bahrain and Kuwait, both members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, treated the attacks as a threat beyond their own borders because the targeted sites sit inside a wider Gulf security network.

The Bigger Picture

The immediate risk is that a shipping dispute becomes a regional military spiral. AP reported that the International Maritime Organization paused a plan to evacuate ships through the Strait of Hormuz after the Ever Lovely was struck, while CNBC reported Brent crude settled down 4.34 percent at $71.99 and U.S. West Texas Intermediate fell 3.74 percent to $69.23 as more tankers exited the strait.

That price movement shows how quickly markets respond when ships move again, even with military risk still present. For Canadian households and businesses, the practical concern is not the battlefield map itself but whether a renewed shutdown or insurance shock disrupts global energy flows and freight routes.

The crisis also has a diplomatic track. Reports from CBC, The Globe and Mail and AP describe a ceasefire arrangement that remains contested, with Iran seeking greater control over navigation routes and the U.S. insisting on safe, toll-free passage.

The Road Ahead

The confirmed next stage is continued pressure on the interim agreement. The U.S. and Iran still have the 60-day window described in the memorandum to negotiate details, but the Bahrain and Kuwait attacks have narrowed the room for trust.

Military alerts remain active in Bahrain, while the Strait of Hormuz remains the central test of whether diplomacy can keep commercial vessels moving without another round of strikes.