Iran Reports Tanker Explosions in Strait of Hormuz as Regional Tensions Escalate
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said two oil tankers exploded in the Strait of Hormuz and announced military operations targeting US positions in Kuwait, Jordan, and Bahrain.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said two oil tankers exploded while transiting the southern shipping lane of the Strait of Hormuz and announced a series of military attacks targeting US positions in Kuwait, Jordan, and Bahrain in response to US strikes on Iranian territory.
According to an IRGC statement, the two tankers caught fire after entering what it described as a minefield due to "deception and misinformation" by US intelligence agencies.
The statement did not identify the vessels or disclose the extent of the damage or whether there were any casualties among their crews.
The IRGC also announced that its forces had detained four additional ships while they were transiting the Strait of Hormuz, without identifying the vessels or explaining the reasons for their detention.
The developments come as maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz continues to decline amid escalating tensions between Iran and the United States.
According to shipping analytics company Kpler, only eight vessels transited the strait on Thursday, compared with 15 vessels on Wednesday and 48 vessels per day two weeks earlier.
Before the outbreak of the conflict at the end of February, more than 100 vessels passed through the strategic waterway each day, highlighting the conflict's impact on global energy security and international trade.
Iranian state television reported on Saturday that the IRGC had launched a series of military attacks against US military targets in Kuwait, Jordan, and Bahrain in response to US strikes on Iranian territory.
According to an IRGC statement, the attacks targeted US Army facilities at Arifjan and the Ali Al Salem Base Surveillance Center in Kuwait during the early hours of Saturday, July 18, 2026.
The IRGC claimed the attacks caused significant damage to the targeted facilities. It also said an arms depot at Adiri Base, several command buildings, weapons storage facilities at Ali Al Salem Base, and multiple communication bridges were hit.
The IRGC further stated that Iranian drones targeted US military fuel tankers at Azraq Air Base in Jordan.
It also announced that a US air base in Bahrain had been bombed.
In a strongly worded statement, the IRGC warned countries hosting US forces, saying: "Countries that have turned their territory into a platform for aggression and attacks against Iran must pay the price for hosting the American aggressors."
The Kuwaiti military said on X that its air defense systems had been activated and successfully intercepted the attacks, adding that the explosions heard were the result of missile interceptions.
Jordan's military said its air defenses shot down 10 Iranian missiles over the country's airspace. It added that no casualties or material damage had been reported and that the situation remained under control.
Meanwhile, Bahrain's Ministry of Interior announced the activation of warning sirens and declared an emergency situation due to the threat of attacks against US naval facilities in the country.
The latest announcements from Iran and the responses from Kuwait, Jordan, and Bahrain underscore the continuing escalation across the region, with developments affecting both regional security and maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.