Since the prior day's handover of American detainee Dena Karari back to the US, which President Trump said he "appreciated" as a rare "gesture of goodwill" from Iran, Washington's bombs over the Islamic Republic appear to have ceased or slowed, for now at least.
But that doesn't mean Iran's retaliatory missiles and drones on America's Gulf allies have halted. On Thursday, Kuwait has announced its air defenses continue to be active, confronting inbound assaults by "hostile drones".
"The General Staff of the Army notes that any explosion sounds heard are the result of air defense systems intercepting the hostile attacks," the Kuwaiti military said in a statement, blasting "the sinful Iranian aggression." It added: "Everyone is requested to adhere to the security and safety instructions issued by the competent authorities."
After five consecutive days of US attack waves, the Iranian military has yet to show signs of backing off its assertions of 'control' over the Strait of Hormuz, and its military has newly warned that the energy transit waterway is an "unbreakable red line" which it will enforce.
On Wednesday President Trump warned that if Iran doesn't come back to the negotiating table - while relinquishing control of Hormuz - that by next week strikes will expand to include civic and energy infrastructure, such as bridges.
Tehran has in turn counter-threatened to destroy "all infrastructure throughout the region" if Trump acts on this threat to attack Iran's vital infrastructure cites.
New: “Infrastructure for Infrastructure” - Iran’s Khatam Al-Anbiya Joint HQ Colonel Ibrahim Zolfaghari:
There are already signs that Iran could be making good on this threat, with Reuters reporting that "Iraq briefly suspended oil loadings on Thursday before resuming them after a drone hit an oil tanker at its Basra terminal, four Iraqi oil and security sources told Reuters."
However, no fire or damage resulted from the attack, with sources indicating it wasn't immediately clear who launched it (whether directly from the Iranians, or perhaps from Tehran-aligned Iraqi paramilitaries). Iraqi oil officials have downplayed the incident:
"It is not targeting Basra Oil Terminal. Its target is another place. Loading is at normal rates depending on the vessels' availability," Ali Nazar said.
An oil ministry spokesperson said loadings were ongoing at Iraq's southern ports and that the ministry is investigating the matter.
Iranian officials are meanwhile accusing Washington of more war crimes, specifically of carrying out a "barbaric attack" after a cancer hospital in Iran's southwest was forced to evacuate due to heavy airstrikes on the area.
“This barbaric attack – reminiscent of Israel's atrocities against healthcare facilities – caused severe suffering and anxiety upon the hospitalised children,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei posted on X. He stated there were "211 patients undergoing chemotherapy" which had to be evacuated Wednesday. No response has been immediately forthcoming by the US side.
To review of the events of the prior 24 hours:
- The US military says it launched another wave of strikes on Iran with Iranian media reporting explosions on Qeshm Island, Bandar Abbas and Chabahar.
- The US military also says it “disabled” an oil tanker attempting to sail towards an Iranian port in the Strait of Hormuz by firing Hellfire missiles.
- Iran says it carried out retaliatory attacks targeting US assets in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan.
As for the situation of global shipping through the Strait, Kpler has recorded that merely 13 merchant ships transited the waterway on Wednesday, including eight that departed the Persian Gulf and five having entered.
Among those, only one - a bulk carrier entering the Gulf - used the US-approved route for safe passage, which hugs the Omani coast. Iran has been busy boasting that a huge array of companies and countries have sought to negotiate passage with Tehran on its terms of late.
This has settled into a waiting game amid dangerous escalatory tit-for-tat strikes, with each seeking to outlast in terms of absorbing pain.
...with that in mind, a "final blow"?
As for the fact that the US military hit an 'unapproved' oil tanker Wednesday near Iran's main export terminal for the first time since the restart of the blockade on the Islamic Republic’s ports, CIC economists including Anne-Lise Cornen summarized where things stand for the White House in a note to clients...
"The challenge for Donald Trump will be to prevent a further rise in inflationary pressures and their detrimental effects on the economy, at a time when the situation was beginning to improve in June," they said.