Latest developments in US-Iran war

Hostilities in the Middle East intensified on Saturday after the United States carried out a seventh consecutive night of strikes on Iran, prompting Tehran to threaten a “full-scale offensive” in response.

Here are the latest developments on Saturday, July 18, 2026:

Bahrain ‘thwarted’ Iranian attacks

Bahrain’s army said its “air defence systems thwarted” a wave of Iranian attacks on Saturday, as a journalist in Manama reported hearing blasts after sirens sounded.

Iran hits Kuwait power, water plant

Kuwait said Iran struck another of its power and water plants, leading to the deactivation of several power generation units, a day after a similar attack.

Seventh night of US strikes on Iran

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on X that it “hit surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage and maritime capabilities” as American forces concluded strikes on Tehran for the seventh consecutive night.

Tankers ‘hit mines’

Two oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz struck mines, according to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards – an assertion denied by the US military.

The Guards said the tankers that hit mines were directed by “deceptive American intelligence agencies” and had caught fire.

CENTCOM issued a brief denial.

The Guards said separately that they had “stopped” four ships attempting to transit the strategic passage.

Gulf countries hit

Iran’s army said it struck US military targets in Kuwait and Jordan in response to American attacks.

The targets in Kuwait were tied to the Al-Adiri camp and Ali Al-Salem base. The targets in Jordan were fuel tanks at the Al-Azraq base.

Kuwait, Jordan respond

Kuwait’s army wrote on X on Saturday that explosions might be heard as a result of “air defence systems intercepting hostile targets”.

Jordan’s army said it had shot down 10 Iranian missiles with no casualties or damage.

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Bahrain base targeted

The Iranian army said it targeted an air base in Bahrain used by the United States, according to state television.

Air raid sirens were sounded in Bahrain, which hosts a major US naval base, according to the country’s interior ministry.

Bahrain and Qatar earlier said they had intercepted missiles.

Casualties reported

Iranian state-controlled IRNA news agency said on Saturday that US strikes had killed three people and wounded eight in Hormozgan, a province in the country’s south.

Blasts in central Iran

Five explosions were heard in the central Iranian city of Yazd shortly after US strikes were announced, according to the IRNA state news agency.

Mehr, another state-controlled agency, reported explosions “in several provinces in the south” of the country.

‘Full-scale offensive’

Tehran threatened to resume “full-scale offensive operations” if US strikes continue over the coming days, Major General Mohsen Rezaei said, according to state-controlled news agency IRIB.

“Iran will no longer limit itself to retaliatory, like-for-like responses… and no political border will be safe,” he said.