Iran Claims It Downed MQ-9 Drone As US Strikes Damage Children's Cancer Hospital

The United States carried out a fresh round of airstrikes on Iran overnight and renewed a blockade of its ports, while Tehran targeted American allies in the Middle East as it vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed "until the US ends its aggression." In Iran, explosions were heard in several locations, including Qeshm Island, Bandar Abbas, Sirik, Chabahar, Konarak, Rask City, Khondab, and the western city of Khorramabad, according to a report by Al Jazeera. 

Explosions were also heard in Ahvaz, where Iran's Mehr News Agency reported that Shahid Baghaei Hospital was impacted by the American bombardment, damaging its child cancer treatment department. As a result, the hospital, which provides chemotherapy treatment for cancer patients, including children, had to be evacuated. 

The American strikes also hit an Iranian army barracks, killing at least seven troops and wounding hundreds of people across the country, Iranian officials said. Overall, Tehran said at least 35 people have been killed, and more than 300 people have been injured in American strikes so far.  

Air defence systems were also activated in the Iranian capital, Tehran, to "counter hostile threats," state media reported. Earlier reports also cited blasts around southern sites including Qeshm and Bandar Imam Khomeini, while state media later said fresh US strikes hit Bushehr, home to Iran's only civilian nuclear plant.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it targeted Iranian military capabilities used to threaten vessels freely transiting the vital waterway. The US military also said one of its aircraft fired on and disabled an empty oil tanker that was trying to break the naval blockade of Iran's ports.

Central Command said the Curacao-flagged M/T Belma was stopped after the aircraft fired Hellfire missiles into the ship's smokestack. "The ship is no longer transiting to Iran," it said on X.

Iran's Response

In response, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said they targeted the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, where air sirens rang out as attacks against civilian targets were intercepted, while Jordan's armed forces said they had downed three missiles from the Islamic Republic.

IRGC also claimed it has intercepted and destroyed an "enemy" MQ-9 drone over the southwestern city of Andimeshk, according to the Tasnim news agency. The Iranian force said the aircraft was brought down by a new air defence system operated by its aerospace force.

In Iraq, Kurdish forces said the US-led coalition downed eight explosive-laden drones over Erbil, the capital of the northern Kurdistan region, where AFP journalists heard explosions and saw smoke near the US consulate. No casualties were reported.

US Approves More Arms For Saudi Arabia, Kuwait

Amid the ongoing hostilities in the Middle East, the US State Department has said that it has "made a determination approving a possible" $1.96bn weapons sale to Saudi Arabia and a separate $484m aircraft sustainment package for Kuwait. According to the State Department, the proposed Saudi deal includes up to 20,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System guidance sections for air-to-air and air-to-ground use, along with warheads, launchers,  training and logistical support and spare parts.

The Kuwait package, it said, includes sustainment and related equipment for C-17 aircraft, including components, software, maintenance support, training, and logistics services. The proposal will go through a congressional review before being approved.

Trump Indicates More Strikes

Soon after the US launched its third wave of strikes in 24 hours, Trump said Iran was ready to strike a peace deal, but he did not elaborate.

"They don't like what we're doing, and they do want to settle. We'll find out whether or not we settle with them or we just finish it off," he said at a defence summit at the US Army War College in Pennsylvania.

But later, talking to Fox News, he threatened to hit power plants and bridges unless Tehran returns to the negotiating table and said, "Next week it gets really bad for them."

US-Iran Talks Still On

Despite renewed hostilities, mediated talks between the two sides have not formally ended. But Iran's top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned that "a memorandum of understanding only has meaning when its clauses are valid and being implemented."

"If Iran is not to derive any benefit from the memorandum of understanding, we have no reason to adhere," he said in a statement.

Itan, meanwhile, made a “gesture of goodwill," according to Trump, by releasing an American citizen wrongly detained in Iran since 2024. The US leader didn't release further details, but human rights lawyer Jared Genser released a statement identifying the detainee as his client Dena Karari, a US-Iranian citizen who runs a nonprofit and was charged with espionage.

The Hormuz Problem

At the heart of the renewed fighting is the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway crucial to global oil and gas flows. Iran blockaded Hormuz after the war erupted with US-Israeli strikes on February 28, using the waterway for leverage against its foes for months.

The strait was briefly reopened after the US-Iran deal last month, before Tehran vowed last week it would be closed again "until the US ends its aggression." Traffic through the waterway remained low, with maritime tracker Kpler reporting only 21 transits on Tuesday, and oil prices ticked higher after the latest escalation disrupted one of the world's most important energy routes.

The United States has also reimposed a blockade of Iran's ports, now enforced by the strike on the Belma.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the renewed US blockade "has, in a way, dismantled the Islamabad memorandum," referring to the interim deal reached last month.