US bombs Iran for ninth consecutive night as Gulf states intercept Iranian drones, missiles

The U.S. military has carried out strikes against Iran for a ninth consecutive night. Explosions have been reported across the country, as Washington vows to punish Tehran for the death of American troops. Iranian state media says attacks targeted several areas along the southern coast, as well as the northwest. Earlier, the U.S. military said one of its soldiers was killed in northern Iraq on Saturday following Iranian attacks on the country. Central Command says the service member died while attempting a controlled detonation of U.S. forces have been attacking Iran every night for more than a week. The latest strikes have targeted cities in the south of the country. That includes the coastal city of Jask. The port city of Sirik, which is located on the Strait of Hormuz, has also been hit. Tabriz in the far northwest has also come under fire. In recent days, several strikes have targeted Hormuzgan province. Iran says bridges, railway facilities and an airport were hit. That's cut off vital routes connecting the port city of Bandar Abbas to cities further inland. Kuwait says its air defenses have been responding to hostile drone attacks from Iran. On Sunday, the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry condemned an attack on one of its water desalination plants, calling the strike a violation of international law. Air raid sirens have also been going off in Bahrain, and Jordan has summoned Iran's envoy. Amman says three missiles were intercepted earlier on Sunday. Now, in a moment, we'll speak to Victoria Gatenby in Doha for the Gulf reaction. But first, let's cross live to Rasul Sardar in Tehran. Rasul, what are you learning about this latest round of U.S. strikes on Iran? Which sites were targeted? And what's the extent of the damage that's been reported so far? Well, it was, Mohamed, a very intense night, particularly in the southern of the country. So a dozen of locations have been hit by American forces. But when we look at particular targets, what we're seeing last night was focusing on the ports. So Bandar Abbas port, Jask port, Chabahar port, port of Mahshar, port of Imam Khomeini, and also port of Konarak. So starting from Khuzestan all the way down to Hormuzgan, Boshir, and Sistan, Balochistan. So the focus was the ports. And we see now the United States is not only going after the military targets, but systemically targeting the civilian infrastructure and the economic infrastructure. Just remember, more than 80 percent of Iran's import and exports happened through the Strait of Hormuz or through this port that they have just named, have just mentioned. So it is it seems that these attacks are aiming not only to degrade IRGC or the Iranian army in the region, but also to cripple Iran economically. These are Iran's economic lifelines and constantly these ports are being attacked. And also there is a new element. So Tabriz and Urmia, these are the northwestern cities of the country. Tabriz particularly is one of the largest cities in Iran. So regarding what specifically have been targeted, the Americans are saying these are the military targets. So far, we do not have much of the details, but perhaps in the coming hours, we will hear more statements from the Iranian officials. All right, Rasool, just stand by for us for a couple of minutes, if you will, because I want to bring in Victoria Gatenby. She's live for us here in the Qatari capital, Doha. Victoria, Iran continues to launch strikes against its neighbors in the Gulf. Just bring us up to speed on where things stand in the region at this hour. Well, attacks are ongoing right across the region, but particularly in Kuwait over the last couple of hours, the IRGC has said that they have attacked the Ali al-Salam Air Base that is 55 kilometers west of Kuwait City, the capital quite close to the border with Iraq. Before this conflict began, it used to host quite a lot of U.S. Marines and U.S. Air Force personnel. We haven't had confirmation by Kuwait that that base has been attacked, but its army says it has been intercepting over the course of the last hour or so several drone attacks. And earlier, the IRGC claimed to have targeted U.S. military assets, including a large ammunition depot and also a radar defense system. Now, elsewhere in the region, in Bahrain, sirens have also been sounding. This morning, the U.S. Embassy warning citizens in that country that Iran possibly may target the capital, Manama, and it's been asking its citizens to take extra precautions there. And then in Jordan, three missiles have been intercepted over the course of the last few hours and one further one landed in open ground. So a number of countries being targeted, particularly Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain once again. And Victoria, we know that Kuwait condemned an attack that targeted a desalination plant. I'm curious to get your sense on what the level of concern is here in the Gulf when it comes to the possibility that critical infrastructure sites like water desalination plants and energy facilities might continue to be targeted. What would that mean going forward and how worried are the governments in these countries? I think it's fair to say there is a great deal of concern throughout the GCC that that targeted attack on Kuwait's power and water desalination plant has caused a great deal of concern. And it's having a big impact in Kuwait. The Ministry of Electricity there saying that they want people to try and conserve as much electricity as they can, particularly between the hours of 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Something that's difficult to do. We are in the height of summer in this region as a whole relies on air conditioning to keep cool. That attack by Iran was condemned by the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council. He described that attack on that water desalination plant as highly dangerous in terms of escalation and a war crime. So I think you can see from those comments that they are really concerned about civilian infrastructure being targeted. It's not the first time we've seen such attacks. We've had attacks over the past five months on oil and gas facilities, on airports, on data centers. But this particular one on the water desalination plant has been significant because there are a finite number of those of those plants. And obviously people's water supplies will be affected if they are targeted relentlessly as Iran seems to be doing at the moment. All right. That's how this year's Victoria Gatenby live for us with all the latest from here in the Qatari capital, Doha. Thanks so much, Victoria. Well, let's cross back now to Rasool Sardar, who's standing by for us in Tehran. Rasool, the Iranian government released a statement about the U.S. having targeted Dar Khovein, which, as I understand it, is a nuclear power plant that's under construction. Have there been any other details that have emerged about that particular attack? Well, the statement was released by the deputy foreign minister of the country, Qasem Gharibabadi, condemning the attack and saying that this site was for the peaceful purposes. Mohammed, what is interesting here is that this is the first time since the beginning of the latest war on February 28 that the United States is directly targeting a nuclear power plant. As it was still under construction, so there was not nuclear material there, so there's no radiation, no leak of the nuclear materials over there. However, it was quite important for Iran because they have started to construct it in 2022 and they were aiming to finish it or to complete it by 2030. So with a budget of $2 billion in the province of Khuzestan, very much close to the Gulf. So previously, we have seen last week the United States attacking the vicinity of Bushehr nuclear power plant. And then also we have seen throughout the 38 days war, there have been some of the reactors, the research centers were hit by the United States. But a direct attack on a nuclear power plant, this is the first that's happening in 2026. Last time that the United States hit the nuclear power plant was in 2025, June. They have attacked Natanz, Ferdous, Ferdous and Isfahan. But now that Darhouin nuclear power plant have been attacked, this is a first one. But let's keep in mind, this is also a part of systemic destruction of the facilities and the critical infrastructure along the side, the southern coast of Iran. All right, that's Aljazeera's Rasool Sardar, joining us live from the Iranian capital, Tehran. Rasool, thanks so much.