The ceasefire is effectively over
The fragile truce between the United States and Iran — the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding signed June 17 — has collapsed in the past week, with President Donald Trump declaring the agreement "over" after both sides resumed direct strikes. What began as a dispute over Iranian attacks on commercial shipping near the Strait of Hormuz has escalated into the heaviest exchange of fire since the original February–June 2026 war, with the US striking roughly 140 Iranian military targets overnight into July 12, following an earlier round that hit around 170 sites, and Iran retaliating with waves of missile and drone strikes across the Gulf.
What Iran has hit, and where
Since late June, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has launched multiple rounds of strikes on US-linked military facilities in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, Oman, and the UAE. On July 9, Iran's military said it targeted a Patriot air defense system in Kuwait, an early-warning system in Qatar, and fuel storage tanks in Bahrain using "a large number of various types of army kamikaze drones" — marking the first time since the ceasefire that Tehran officially acknowledged striking Qatar. A further, larger wave followed on July 11–12: Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE all reported responding to missile and drone attacks, air-raid sirens sounded across multiple capitals, and Iran's IRGC said it also struck Jordan's Prince Hassan Air Base in "retaliatory strikes."
Confirmed damage so far, per the Gulf states' own governments, includes: three land border posts damaged in northern Kuwait and a Kuwait Oil Company offshore drilling platform hit by a drone, injuring one worker; sirens and shelter orders in Bahrain with US Navy Fifth Fleet facilities reportedly targeted; an intercepted missile attack on Qatar; and reported missile/drone activity over the UAE. Jordanian authorities said three Iranian missiles fell in Jordan without causing casualties. Iranian state media has additionally claimed strikes on a US ATACMS missile site and HIMARS rocket launchers in Kuwait — claims that Kuwait's own Ministry of Defense has not confirmed in its official statements, which describe "material damage" from the attacks without mentioning HIMARS specifically. CNN and other Western outlets have said they could not independently verify several of Iran's specific claims about US military equipment destroyed.
A note on drone and equipment cost claims
Some viral commentary on this conflict has circulated dramatic cost comparisons — framing cheap Iranian drones as destroying vastly more expensive American hardware. The comparison is directionally real but the specific figures matter: Iran's Shahed-136 "kamikaze" drones are generally estimated to cost between roughly $20,000 and $50,000 per unit (some Russian-manufactured variants used against Ukraine run higher), not in the millions. On the other side of the ledger, a single HIMARS launcher is generally priced in the low millions of dollars, not hundreds of millions — so claims of a "$2.5 million drone destroying a $410 million HIMARS" don't match publicly available cost data for either system and should be treated as unverified. What is well documented is that a Pentagon-linked cost estimate put the damage to the US Navy's Bahrain base alone at roughly $400 million to rebuild, and that the broader four-month war earlier this year cost an estimated $2.2–5.1 billion in damage to US bases across the region, according to CSIS analysis — genuinely striking figures on their own, without needing inflated per-unit comparisons.
How Gulf states are responding
Kuwait's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a strongly worded statement on July 12 condemning the attacks as "a grave violation of its sovereignty and a direct threat to its national security," calling them a breach of international law and UN Security Council Resolution 2817, and warning that continued attacks represent "an extremely dangerous escalation" that could undermine diplomatic efforts. Kuwait stated it "reserves all its rights to take the necessary measures to protect its security" — language that signals serious intent without explicitly declaring military retaliation. Bahrain and the UAE issued similar condemnations, describing the strikes as violations of their sovereignty. Notably, Kuwait's Emir has previously stressed the country did not permit its territory to be used for military action against Iran, a point Kuwaiti officials have repeated as they try to avoid being treated as a combatant despite hosting US forces.
Why this matters beyond the Gulf
The renewed fighting has already moved oil markets — Brent crude rose nearly 4% to just under $79 a barrel on the news — and has complicated separate Iran-Oman talks over safe shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that historically carried roughly a fifth of the world's traded oil and gas. Pakistan, which has played a mediating role between Washington and Tehran, said it was following the escalation "with deep concern." The renewed strikes also come just days after the conclusion of funeral ceremonies for Iran's former Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, killed in the joint US-Israeli strike that began the war in February, adding a further layer of instability as Iran's new leadership under Mojtaba Khamenei navigates both a domestic transition and an active military crisis.
Where things stand right now
This is an actively unfolding situation. As of this writing, there is no indication either side has agreed to stand down, and CENTCOM has said US forces remain "postured and prepared to hold Iran accountable" going forward. Given how quickly the picture has changed over just the past two weeks — from a fragile ceasefire holding through Khamenei's funeral to a fresh multi-country exchange of strikes — any specific casualty figures, damage claims, or diplomatic developments in this article should be treated as a snapshot rather than a final account.
This article reflects reporting as of July 13, 2026, and covers an active, fast-moving conflict. Given the volume of unverified claims from all sides (particularly around specific equipment destroyed), verify the latest confirmed developments — ideally from CENTCOM, Gulf state defense ministries, and major wire services — before publishing.