The United States struck Iran and Tehran hit back at US allies in the Gulf on Thursday, as the foes battled over the vital Strait of Hormuz in the renewed Middle East war.

The rekindled fighting came a month after the signing of a preliminary deal that aimed to end the conflict, which broke out in late February with massive US-Israeli strikes on Iran. So far Israel has not been involved in the latest escalation and Tehran has not directly targeted the Jewish state.

On Thursday, Tehran warned it would target infrastructure across the region if Donald Trump followed through on a threat to attack power plants and bridges in Iran — though the White House said the US president remained “open to diplomacy.”

Earlier, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they struck a US airbase in Jordan with ballistic missiles in response to what they described as an American attack near a children’s cancer hospital in the Islamic Republic.

Iranian state media said the hospital in Ahvaz, in the southwest, was evacuated following US airstrikes on the area that foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei slammed as “barbaric.”

Hani, a 34-year-old teacher from Ahvaz, said the strikes were “very intense,” adding: “My hands are shaking. There were at least 11 or 12 explosions. My ears are exploding.”

U.S. Air Force F-35A stealth fighter aircraft are refueled by a KC-135 Stratotanker while flying patrols over the Middle East. pic.twitter.com/KSbmYTH2LT — U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 16, 2026

U.S. Air Force F-35A stealth fighter aircraft are refueled by a KC-135 Stratotanker while flying patrols over the Middle East. pic.twitter.com/KSbmYTH2LT

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 16, 2026

The US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces hit military targets in multiple locations to “degrade Iran’s ability to threaten innocent mariners” in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian state news agency IRNA said a projectile struck parts of Semnan airport in the north, without injuring anyone. It also reported explosions elsewhere in the country, while air defenses were triggered in parts of Tehran. Other state media outlets said strikes had hid two bridges in southern Iran, after Trump’s threats to do so.

Soon after, US allies in the Gulf began responding to attacks, with Kuwait saying it intercepted Iranian drones and Bahrain sounding air raid sirens.

Iranian news agencies later reported that the United States launched new strikes around the Gulf island of Qeshm near the Strait of Hormuz, as well as on the port city of Bandar........

© The Times of Israel