US continues strikes on Iran, US bases in Kuwait, Jordan hit by Iran

U.S. forces launched another round of strikes against Iranian military targets on Thursday evening, marking the 13th consecutive night of attacks, said the U.S. Central Command, reported Xinhua.

The strikes began at 6:45 p.m. Eastern Time and were intended "to hold Iran accountable and diminish threats from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to commercial shipping," the command said in a post on X.

U.S. forces have redirected 12 commercial vessels and disabled one from entering or leaving Iranian ports or coastal areas since resuming a naval blockade against Iran earlier this month, the command said in another post on X.

Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump said he is seriously considering restarting major combat operations in Iran, including strikes that would be bigger than the "Operation Epic Fury" launched on Feb. 28, Axios reported on Thursday.

"I am considering a massive attack. Bigger than ever before. I am close to making a decision. We are all set for it," Trump said in the interview, adding that Iran had not "received enough pain yet."

Israel "would join in two minutes if I ask them to," Trump said, admitting there would be "consequences" for Israel if it joined the strikes.

Trump didn't give a deadline for his decision, according to the report.

As of Wednesday, U.S. forces had launched strikes against Iranian military targets for 12 consecutive days following the collapse of a June memorandum of understanding intended to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

International benchmark Brent crude rose to the highest level in two months, reaching 100 U.S. dollars per barrel on Thursday morning after two Saudi oil tankers were hit in the Red Sea.

As many as 68 percent of U.S. adults said the war with Iran was "not worth fighting," while only 28 percent said it was, according to a poll released by The Washington Post-Ipsos last week.

Meanwhile, Iran said Thursday that U.S. bases and assets in Kuwait and Jordan were hit in a new round of its retaliation strikes, which inflicted personnel casualties and heavy military losses there.

Iranian forces hit and destroyed in a drone attack a large military equipment warehouse, a Patriot air defense system and a hangar of MQ-9 Reaper drones, all belonging to the United States, at the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait "to punish the U.S. Army for its interventions in the Strait of Hormuz," Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said in statements published on its official Sepah News.

The Iranian army also said it hit a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system, a Patriot air defense system, a C-RAM radar system and fuel storage facilities at U.S. bases in Jordan, and destroyed a large warehouse of U.S. helicopter parts and a silo for the maintenance and repair of American helicopters.

Earlier on Thursday, the U.S. Central Command said on X that its forces had "completed another round of strikes against Iran for the 12th consecutive night."

Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency reported multiple explosions across several provinces, including Kermanshah, Khuzestan and Bushehr, following early Thursday's U.S. strikes. In the southwestern province of Khuzestan, a missile attack near a passenger terminal on the Iran-Iraq border left at least two people dead and 11 others wounded.

Qatar Airways suspends flights to Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq's Erbil

Qatar Airways on Thursday announced the temporary suspension of flights to Bahrain, Kuwait, and the Iraqi city of Erbil, according to travel alerts issued by the airline.

The airline said flights to Bahrain and Erbil will remain suspended through July 25, while services to Kuwait have been halted through July 31.

The suspensions come as rising regional security tensions continue to affect air travel across the Gulf.

Earlier this week, Iran launched retaliatory missile and drone strikes targeting U.S. assets in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan after another round of U.S. attacks.

Several airlines have adjusted their regional operations in recent days as the security situation continues to evolve.