Key facts
- US air strikes killed 17 people and injured 115 across Iran.
- Targets included military sites near the Bushehr nuclear power plant and Chabahar port.
- Iran launched retaliatory strikes on US assets in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, and Iraq.
- The burial of Iran's late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, took place in Mashhad.
- US Central Command stated the strikes aimed to degrade Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping.
- Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has significantly decreased.
US air strikes on Tuesday and Wednesday killed 17 people and injured 115 across six cities in Iran, according to the health ministry. The strikes targeted 90 Iranian military sites, including those near the Strait of Hormuz and the Bushehr nuclear power plant, with US Central Command stating the aim was to degrade Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping.
Iran denounced the strikes as a "grave war crime" and retaliated by targeting US assets in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar, later launching further strikes on sites in Kuwait, Jordan, and Iraq. Bridges and a railway connecting Tehran to Mashhad were also damaged.
These exchanges occurred as thousands gathered for the burial of Iran's late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Mashhad. Khamenei was killed on February 28 during initial US and Israeli strikes. Some mourners held signs with death threats directed at US President Donald Trump.
Following the US attacks, a "dramatic" drop in the number of ships travelling through the Strait of Hormuz was reported, with traffic on the southern route near Oman falling to single figures.