Iran tells US amid strikes: 'Keep your word or pay the price'
The United States has launched extensive airstrikes against Iranian targets following an attack on a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has retaliated by targeting several Middle Eastern nations, raising concerns about the potential collapse of an interim peace deal.
Why it matters
The escalation threatens global energy security and risks a return to full-scale regional warfare in the Persian Gulf.
<p>The United States has <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/07/12/us-strikes-iran-over-hormuz-ship-attack-tehran-lashes-out-again-at-gulf-states/" target="_blank">launched several waves of strikes</a> on Iran over an Iranian <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/07/09/missile-alerts-in-gulf-countries-after-us-launches-airstrikes-against-iran/" target="_blank">attack on a container ship</a> in the Strait of Hormuz that set it ablaze and left a crew member missing over the weekend. Iran retaliated by targeting countries across the Middle East.</p> <p>Missile alert sirens sounded at dawn Monday in Bahrain, home to the US Navy's 5th Fleet. There was no immediate word on damage.</p> <p>Iranian state media acknowledged the latest attacks on its soil early Monday, describing explosions in several locations with at least one person being killed.</p> <p><i>I</i>ranian attacks on Sunday stretched Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and even Oman — whose territorial waters with Iran make up the strait.
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