US and Allies Escalate Military Strikes Against Iran

The United States and its allies have escalated military operations against Iran, culminating in what US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth described as the most intense day of strikes inside the country to date. US B-1 bombers deployed from RAF Fairford in the UK to target Iranian missile sites, while President Donald Trump characterized the campaign as a short-term excursion to ensure lower energy prices and threatened death, fire and fury if Iran continued to block the Strait of Hormuz.

These strikes followed a wave of Iranian aggression across the Middle East. Iran launched missiles and drones at Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan, killing one woman in Manama and damaging fuel depots in Kuwait. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also targeted the US Army headquarters at Harir Air Base in Iraq. In response, the UK's Royal Air Force shot down drones over Jordan and Bahrain and deployed the destroyer HMS Dragon to the eastern Mediterranean. Australia and Ukraine also provided support, with Australia deploying an E-7A Wedgetail aircraft and Ukraine sending drone teams to help Gulf states defend against Iranian-designed weapons.

The conflict has caused severe regional instability, including Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon and a surge in jet fuel prices that forced Air New Zealand to suspend earnings guidance. While the Government of Iran denies involvement in several regional attacks and accuses Israel's Mossad of conducting false-flag operations to frame Tehran, international coalitions continue to bolster defenses across the Gulf and the Red Sea.