AS IT HAPPENED: US launches new strikes on Iran; Trump threatens to 'blow up' ally over Strait of Hormuz; US midterms won't affect Iran negotiations

Thanks for joining us for our rolling coverage of the Middle East conflict, with tensions rising today as both sides carried out small-scale strikes.

Here are the key events from the day:

- The US, Iran, and Israel all carried out strikes, with the US striking near the port city of Bandar Abbas. Iran fired warning shots at ships over the Strait of Hormuz and reportedly fired drones towards Kuwait. Meanwhile, Israel hit the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon.

- US President Donald Trump fired a stunning threat at ally Oman, telling reporters he would "blow 'em up," if they did not listen to US demands in the Strait of Hormuz.

- Trump has announced the US and Armenia will soon "break ground" on the "Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity", designed to be an alternate shipping route to the Strait of Hormuz.

- A new report suggests it will take at least three years for the US to replace the missiles and munitions expended in the recent conflict with Iran.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said they launched an attack targeting an American air base which they say was the source of US strikes on Iranian targets early on Thursday local time, state-linked Iranian media reported.

The IRGC did not specify which air base it targeted. The US has air bases in a number of nations in the Middle East region.

"Following the aggression carried out at dawn today by the invading US military against a location on the outskirts of Bandar Abbas Airport using aerial projectiles, the American air base identified as the source of the attack was targeted at 4.50am," Fars News Agency reported, citing a statement from the IRGC's public relations office.

The IRGC said its response was "a serious warning" to the US, saying its "aggression will not go unanswered."

Kuwait has confirmed its air defences are fighting off drone strikes.

In a post on X, the army said, "Kuwaiti air defences are currently confronting hostile missile and drone attacks.

"The General Staff of the Army notes that any explosion sounds heard are the result of air defence systems intercepting the hostile attacks."

Meanwhile, Israel has launched fresh attacks on southern Lebanon, hitting the city of Tyre.

It comes after Israel issued what appeared to be its largest evacuation warning for the city, which sits on the Mediterranean coast, north of the zone occupied by Israeli forces.

Reported with CNN

Four vessels that tried to transit the Strait of Hormuz were fired upon by Iran's military and forced to turn around early Thursday morning local time, Iranian state-linked media have claimed.

"Four vessels attempted to pass through the Strait of Hormuz and enter the Persian Gulf without coordinating with the security forces responsible for the strait," multiple Iranian state-affiliated media reported on Thursday, citing a military source.

"They were warned, and after ignoring the warning, warning shots were fired toward them, forcing them to turn back," said the reports.

The Tasnim News Agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), earlier reported that the IRGC Navy had fired a warning shot at an "American oil tanker" forcing it to turn around.

US officials have released footage of a strike on an alleged drug boat in the Pacific Ocean.

"Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organisations," an X post by US Southern Command said.

"Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.

It confirmed two men, whom it called "narco-terrorists", were killed.

And on that cabinet meeting, Sanner also said Trump's threat to "blow up" the friendly nation of Oman if it did not cooperate in keeping the Strait of Hormuz open was not likely to be off-the-cuff.

Oman has been a key mediator in Middle Eastern peace talks, but remains on good terms with Iran.

The Tehran regime has said the two countries will cooperate to manage the strait and likely take tolls from shipping.

"This is the fact about Oman, they have been very close in dealing with Iran in the past, they have been mediators," Sanner told CNN.

"But at the same time, they have turned a blind eye to some of the shenanigans in terms of Iran supporting some of the proxies in Yemen. So yeah, it's a signal, and (the US) mean it."

Former US deputy director of national intelligence Beth Sanner says she believes the ceasefire still remains in place after the US military launched new strikes against Iran.

"You can make a definition of this as defensive, or just in terms of the threat to shipping that you need to do this kind of activity," she said in an interview with CNN, comparing it to US actions earlier this week after spotting Iranian forces laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

"The other way to see it is that we're sending a signal," she said.

She said during the last exchange of fire, Iran had destroyed a $30 million Reaper drone and other US assets.

"This time, there probably wasn't anything they took down from the US, so let's see what they do next," she said.

Sanner (pictured above) said the rhetoric from Iran about controlling the shipping lane, similar statements in the country's official media, and actions like mining the strait, showed one thing in particular.

"They are hanging tough on this, and this is completely contrary to what President Trump said in today's Cabinet meeting," she said.

This map from CNN shows where the explosions were heard earlier this morning in Bandar Abbas, Iran.

The various unnamed US sources have not confirmed the site of the new strikes on Iranian assets, but Bandar Abbas has been a target of US military intervention before.

The port city has a population of just over half a million people, and holds a key position in the Strait of Hormuz.

Before this week, the US said naval vessels destroyed several small boats near the city that attacked the warships as they passed.

The Associated Press has now reported US forces took action near Bandar Abbas after "aggressive" activity, quoting two unnamed officials.

It's the second US strike in the region this week.

The US characterised both as defensive in nature.

CNN, quoting a US military official, has provided more updates on the US strikes.

The official said US Central Command shot down four Iranian attack drones.

US forces also struck an Iranian ground control station in the port city of Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone.

The official reportedly characterised the strikes as "measured, purely defensive and intended to maintain the ceasefire".