US strikes Iran nuclear site as Tehran raids Kuwaiti oil tanker off Dubai coast
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The United States struck the central Iranian city of Isfahan early Tuesday, sending a huge firestorm into the sky, and Tehran rammed a Kuwaiti oil tanker that was full in the Persian Gulf.
The attack was a testament to the intensity of the month-long war the US and Israel have launched against Iran, which has been occupying the Strait of Hormuz, blocking a vital waterway for sending electricity to the world, sending oil prices soaring and shaking global markets.
US President Donald Trump, who has been insisting that there is progress in negotiations to end the war, shared a video of the attack on Isfahan, with fiery explosions lighting up the night sky. Isfahan is home to three sites that were attacked by US forces in June and some of Iran’s richest uranium may be stored or buried there.
Meanwhile, Israel said that four more soldiers were killed during the attack on Lebanon, as well as two United Nations peacekeepers, which led the UN Security Council to organize an emergency meeting to be held on Tuesday.
Brent crude prices, the international standard, were hovering around $107 US a barrel in early trade, up more than 45 percent since the war began in Feb. 28 when the US and Israel attacked Iran.
Iran’s hold on the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway leading to the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported in peacetime, has driven up oil prices worldwide, as has its attack on the Gulf region’s energy infrastructure.
An Iranian missile attack damaged an Israeli refinery, while Israel stormed Tehran on Monday as US President Donald Trump reiterated that high-level talks with Iran were continuing, as he threatened to ‘totally shut down’ Iran’s energy plants and other infrastructure if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened.
In response to growing Gulf Arab anger, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi insisted on Tuesday that Tehran was only targeting US forces. Many states have been urging Washington to continue the war until Iran’s military power is destroyed.
“Our operations are directed at enemy invaders who do not respect Arabs or Iranians, and cannot provide any security,” Araghchi wrote in X. “It’s high time to withdraw US forces.”
An Iranian drone hit a Kuwaiti oil tanker
Despite these remarks, targeted attacks continued as an Iranian jet hit a Kuwaiti oil tanker in Dubai waters, sparking a fire that was later extinguished, the Dubai Media Office said.
Four people were also injured in Dubai when debris from a hijacked plane fell into a residential area.
Air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry said it intercepted three missiles fired at Riyadh, and falling debris from a drone that flew southeast of the capital caused minor damage to six houses.
There was also the sound of clanging bells in Jerusalem and loud explosions shortly after the Israeli military warned of a missile attack from Iran.
Meanwhile, Israel and the US launched a new wave of strikes on Iran, hitting Tehran early in the morning.
A video shared by Trump appeared to show a major attack in Isfahan, where NASA fire-monitoring satellites suggested the explosion occurred near Mount Soffeh, an area believed to have military positions. Iran has not confirmed the attack.
A satellite image taken just before a 12-day war in June 2025 between Iran and Israel suggests that Tehran has transferred a truckload of highly enriched uranium to its nuclear facility in Isfahan.
An image from the Airbus Defense and Space Pléiades Neo satellite shows a truck loaded with 18 green containers entering a tunnel at the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center nearly two weeks before the US bombed the site.
Analysts determined that the truck was likely carrying most or all of Iran’s stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity. That’s a short, technical step to 90 percent weapon grade standards.
