US ups offensive against Iran: The United States intensified its military campaign against Iran early Thursday, extending its strikes further north. American forces also opened fire on a vessel they accused of attempting to breach the US naval blockade on the Islamic Republic. Iran retaliated before dawn with missile and drone attacks targeting US allies in the region including Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait and warned that its military response could escalate further. Separately, the Iranian army on Thursday launched strikes targeting US military communication systems and fuel storage tanks at the Azraq military base in Jordan.

Meanwhile, the US military said it carried out another wave of aerial strikes against Iran on Wednesday night, targeting Iranian command centres, air defence sites, missile and drone capabilities, and coastal surveillance facilities.

“CENTCOM used precision munitions to hit targets in multiple locations, including Bandar Abbas. Earlier this morning, American forces struck coastal defense and cruise missile sites on Greater Tunb Island during a 90-minute wave. The U.S. military is holding Iran accountable at the Commander in Chief’s direction,” CENTCOM said in a post on X.

Kuwait intercepts Iranian drones; Bahrain issues air raid alerts: Kuwait said that it is intercepting Iranian drones while air raid sirens sounded across Bahrain. In a statement on X, the Kuwaiti army said that the forces are “currently confronting attacks by hostile drones, following the sinful Iranian aggression.”
Meanwhile, Bahrain’s interior ministry urged citizens and residents to “remain calm and head to the nearest safe place.”

Here are the top developments

• Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi condemned the “drone attack” that he said violated the airspace of Erbil in the northern Kurdistan region.
• As the war escalates in the Middle East, the United States said that it has approved the sale of an estimated $1.96 billion in weapons to Saudi Arabia.
• The Iranian army launches strikes targeting US military facilities in Jordan using suicide (kamikaze) drones.
• Iran says US attacks targeted Semnan province, home to Iran’s ballistic missile production and space program.
• Massive posters depicting US President Donald Trump in a coffin hung in Iran’s capital, Tehran.