Representative imageThe US military’s Central Command said it struck several areas in Iran, targeting “coastal defence systems, missile and drone sites and maritime capabilities.” Iran acknowledged the strikes but provided no immediate casualty or damage assessments. “These strikes will continue imposing a heavy cost on Iranian forces and degrade their ability to attack innocent civilians and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” the US military said.Iran responded with attacks targeting Bahrain, Jordan and three tankers that travelled through the strait. Kuwait’s military said it was responding to an aerial attack without providing details.Two of the ships were associated with the UAE and were set ablaze for a time. The International Maritime Organization said the attack on the tankers Mombasa and Al Bahiyah killed two mariners and wounded 14 others. The Emirates threatened to retaliate. Dutch shipping firm Stolt Tankers said that one of its ships came under attack. The attack on the Stolt Magnesium off Oman sparked a fire in the engine room, but the company said all the mariners were safe. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said the Mombasa and Al Bahiyah “ignored repeated warnings.” Iran has targeted ships that use a route through the strait that passes near Oman outside of its territorial waters.Hours after the US said it ended its campaign of strikes, the Iranian city of Bushehr on the Persian Gulf was hit in at least four locations, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. The attacks again raised the possibility that Gulf states were retaliating against Iran without discussing it in public.The European Union Aviation Safety Agency warned airlines against operating in the airspace of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE, as well as over the Gulf of Oman. It said in a bulletin that “unpredictable military developments, combined with the possible use of missiles, drones, combat aircraft and air-defence systems, create a high risk to civil flights.” ap