Fresh explosions rocked southern and central Iran on Monday night and early Tuesday, 22 July 2025, as US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced a new round of strikes against the country, marking a sharp escalation in what has become an open military confrontation between Washington and Tehran. The strikes, according to CENTCOM, are designed to further degrade Iranian military capabilities used to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Where the Blasts Were Heard

Explosions were reported in the counties of Bandar Abbas, Sirik, Bandar Lengeh, and Qeshm in the southern province of Hormozgan, as well as in Chabahar and Konarak in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan, according to Iranian media. Air defences were activated in the southern port city of Bushehr to 'engage with hostile aircraft,' the official Iranian news agency IRNA reported. By early Tuesday, blasts were also heard in the southern city of Shiraz and two explosions were reported in the central city of Isfahan, per IRNA and the semi-official Mehr News Agency.

Kuwait Under Fire

The General Staff of the Kuwaiti Army confirmed early Tuesday that its air defences were actively responding to 'hostile missile and drone threats.' The disclosure underscores how the conflict has spilled well beyond Iranian borders, with Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan all drawn into the crossfire as host nations of US military assets. Iran has launched repeated waves of missiles and drones at American bases and facilities across the region over the past week.

IRGC Claims Strikes on US Assets in Jordan and Kuwait

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Monday that its forces launched retaliatory ballistic missile and drone strikes against US assets in Jordan and Kuwait. In statements published on its official outlet Sepah News, the IRGC claimed it struck Boeing C-17 Globemaster III and Boeing P-8 Poseidon aircraft at an airport in the Jordanian port city of Aqaba, reportedly heavily damaging several of them. The IRGC also claimed its forces destroyed an American early warning radar system in Kuwait, and targeted a warehouse, aircraft parts depot, and a hangar of MQ-9 Reaper drones at Ali Al Salem Air Base, setting fire to a number of the unmanned aerial vehicles. The IRGC said the attacks were in direct retaliation for what it termed repeated US 'aggressions' against Iranian territory.

Iran Declares 'Full-Scale War' — Then Keeps Diplomatic Door Open

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian declared a 'full-scale war' with the United States on Monday — a rhetorical escalation that rattled regional capitals. Yet within hours, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei struck a markedly different note, saying Iran had received mediation proposals and that its diplomatic channels remain open. The contradictory signals reflect an internal tension in Tehran between hardline military posturing and a recognition that sustained conflict carries severe economic and strategic costs.

The Wider Context

Over the past week, the United States has launched multiple rounds of strikes on Iran, each time citing the goal of degrading Tehran's ability to threaten commercial shipping through the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz — a chokepoint through which roughly 20% of global oil trade passes. Iran has responded with successive missile and drone salvos. This is the most direct US-Iran military confrontation since the killing of IRGC General Qasem Soleimani in January 2020, and analysts warn that the escalation ladder has few visible rungs left before the situation risks broader regional war. How regional powers and global energy markets respond in the coming hours will be critical.