The confrontation between the US and Iran continues to escalate, with both sides trading strikes for more than a week in a conflict that is increasingly spilling across the Middle East. As US Central Command presses ahead with nightly attacks on Iranian targets, Tehran has retaliated by striking US-linked facilities in neighbouring countries. Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan have all been targeted in recent days, while reports point to additional attacks in Syria and Iraq. Follow our live blog below for the latest developments as they happen.
Tuesday, 21st July 2026, 10:2o
DUBAI, July 21 (Reuters) – Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they targeted infrastructure belonging to U.S. company Amazon AMZN.O in Bahrain, according to a statements published by state media on Tuesday.
There was no official confirmation from Bahrain. Reuters could not independently verify the incident.
Monday, 20th July 2026, 15:22
July 20 (Reuters) – Iran attacked Bahrain’s civil air navigation systems but operations were not affected, the Bahrain Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement to the state news agency.
Flights and air traffic transit through Bahrain are proceeding normally, the statement said.
Monday, 20th July 2026, 10:04
Bahrain sounds second warning siren as Kuwait intercepts hostile drones
Bahrain activated a second warning siren on Monday morning as regional security tensions escalated, while neighbouring Kuwait said its air defence systems were intercepting hostile drone attacks that it attributed to Iranian aggression.
In a statement, Bahrain’s authorities urged citizens and residents to remain calm and move to the nearest safe place, while following official safety instructions and relying only on verified information issued by relevant government agencies.
No immediate details were provided on the cause of the second alert, and authorities did not report any casualties or damage.
In Kuwait, the General Staff of the Army said the country’s air defence systems were responding to hostile drone attacks following what it described as Iranian aggression.
The military added that any explosion sounds heard across the country were the result of air defence systems intercepting incoming threats, urging citizens and residents to remain calm and comply with security and safety instructions issued by the relevant authorities.
Monday, 20th July 2026, 05:47
DUBAI/CAIRO, July 20 (Reuters) – US forces struck Iran for a ninth consecutive day on Monday as the number of confirmed American military deaths in the renewed fighting rose to three and concerns grew over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
In a statement, US Central Command said it started “a new wave of strikes” aimed at “degrading” Iran‘s ability to attack commercial vessels in the strait’s vital shipping lanes.
The Central Command announcement gave no further details. But Iran‘s semi-official Tasnim news agency, citing its own reporters, said US missiles struck several Iranian cities early Monday.
Explosions were heard in Tabriz, Chabahar, Konarak, Bandar Mahshahr and Bandar Imam Khomeini, according to Tasnim.
In the latest American casualty reported in the war, the US military said on Sunday that a service member was killed on Saturday in northern Iraq, where the U.S. has military bases, during a controlled detonation of what Central Command called unexploded ordnance on a downed Iranian attack drone.
Earlier in the weekend, the US military said two of its service personnel died in Jordan and that a third was missing in action. On Sunday, Central Command said in a statement that “unidentified remains” had been found at the site of Friday’s attack and that “an examination process to verify the remains is ongoing.”
The latest casualty announcements brought the total number of US military personnel killed since the war began to 17, with more than 420 others wounded.
For its part, Iran‘s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a surprise strike against “the enemy’s special operations headquarters in Syria’s Al-Tanf area.”
Monday, 20th July 2026, 05:34
July 20 (Reuters) – The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Monday that two oil tankers had exploded and been immobilised after attempting to transit what it described as an unsafe southern route through the Strait of Hormuz, alleging they had been encouraged by the US military to use the passage.
The statement gave no details on the vessels’ names, flags, crews or any casualties.
The Guards said the waterway would remain unsafe as long as what it called US “aggression” in the region continued, warning that “this passage will not be safe for the transit of petrochemical products, nor even a single drop of oil and gas.”
They told the US military to prepare for a “punitive operation.”
