US strikes Iran after troops killed; Iran hits Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan

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Kuwait condemned on Sunday what it called an Iranian attack on a power and water desalination facility in the Gulf state, adding that Iran bears full responsibility for its attack on civilian infrastructure in the country. 

The UN's nuclear watchdog called for restraint on Sunday after Iran's Atomic Energy Organization said the United States had attacked an under-construction nuclear power plant in the country's southwest.

Tehran's Atomic Energy Organization said US forces "in an aggressive and brutal act contrary to international law, attacked the under-construction Darkhovin nuclear power plant... with a number of projectiles on Sunday", according to a statement carried by state TV.

The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency said it was looking into the reports, noting the plant "is in the very early stages of construction and contained no nuclear material when last visited by the IAEA".

While the incident "is not believed to pose any radiological risk", IAEA director Rafael Grossi reiterated his "call for military restraint in the vicinity of all nuclear-related sites", the agency said, in a post on X.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in Washington on Sunday, hailing the country for its "move towards peace" after the latest round of Lebanon-Israel talks.

The two discussed implementation of a U.S.-brokered framework agreement signed by Israel and Lebanon on 26 June aimed at ending their conflict, the State Department said.

Rubio "commended the courage of the Government of Lebanon, under President Aoun's leadership, for their determined effort to reclaim Lebanon's sovereignty, disarm Hezbollah and dismantle its terrorist infrastructure, and move towards peace," the State Department added.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in Washington on Sunday, a State Department official told AFP, after the latest round of Lebanon-Israel talks wrapped up in Italy.

The Lebanese president's office said Aoun will meet President Donald Trump on Tuesday.

Israel's defence minister said Sunday that his country would respond powerfully to any attack by Iran, after Israeli and Jordanian forces intercepted an Iranian missile launched towards the Jordanian city of Aqaba.

"If Iran files missiles at Israel, we will attack them with full force," Israel Katz said during a visit to a rescue service facility. "If the United States changes its policy, which is also something that could happen, we are prepared for both defensive and offensive" action against Tehran, he added.

Israeli and Jordanian forces intercepted an Iranian missile aimed at the Jordanian city of Aqaba on Sunday, the Israeli military told AFP.

When asked by AFP about reports of explosions near the Israeli city of Eilat, a military spokeswoman said both Israeli and Jordanian forces had intercepted a projectile.

Jordan's Armed Forces said they shot down three Iranian missiles targeting the kingdom, according to state television.

The Israeli military said Sunday it had idenfied missiles launched from Iran towards Aqaba in Jordan, after Jordan's government denied the city's airport and seaport were evacuated over a threat.

"A short while ago, the IDF identified the launch of missiles from Iran toward the city of Aqaba in Jordan, adjacent to Israeli territory," the military said. "It is possible that as a result of the fire, there will be spillover into Israeli territory."

Israel is preparing to receive more U.S. refuelling aircraft, an Israeli military official said on Sunday, as attacks launched by the United States and Iran have escalated over the past week.

The Israeli official said the U.S. had "decided to adjust its force posture in the region" and "to reinforce the existing fleet of aerial refuelling aircraft stationed in Israel with additional refuelling aircraft."

Another senior Israeli official said dozens of U.S. refuelling planes were expected to arrive in Israel.

 U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Republicans should add Iran to the Russian sanctions bill.

Iran said on Sunday that it stopped two ships trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz without authorisation, as tensions escalate between Tehran and Washington over control of the crucial waterway.

"Four violating ships, with the mischief and support of American terrorists... intended to disrupt and exit the Strait of Hormuz via an unsafe route, two of which had an accident and were stopped in place," Iran's Revolutionary Guards said in a statement, adding the two other ships abandoned their journey.

An Iranian attack on a power and water plant in Kuwait caused a fire for the second day in a row on Sunday, Kuwaiti authorities said.

"As a result of the heinous Iranian aggression on Kuwait, a power and water distillation plant, for the second time in two days, has been subjected to an attack that caused a fire in some facilities of the station," the Kuwaiti ministry of electricity, water and renewable energy said in a statement on X, adding that firefighters were working to extinguish the blaze.

بيان رقم (21) من وزارة الكهرباء والماء والطاقة المتجددة

بشأن تعرض محطة للقوى الكهربائية وتقطير المياه للاعتداء.#وزارة_الكهرباء_والماء pic.twitter.com/2irGZ2xQVZ

— وزارة الكهرباء والماء والطاقة المتجددة 🇰🇼 (@mew_kwt) July 19, 2026

The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran condemned a U.S. attack on the site of the nuclear power plant under contruction in Darkhovin, saying the strike violated international law, Mehr news agency reported on Sunday without saying when the strike occurred.

Construction of the plant in southwestern Iran's Khuzestan province began in 2022.

Jordanian authorities have not issued any decision on Sunday to evacuate the airport or seaport in Aqaba, and have not detected any potential threats in the past hours, the state news agency cited the government spokesperson as saying.

The U.S. embassy in Amman had said earlier the port and international airport in Aqaba were evacuated because of a "specific and credible threat", without giving further details.

Israeli settlers set fire overnight to a mosque in a village in the occupied West Bank, a Palestinian official said Sunday, with structure's entrance scorched and Hebrew graffiti sprayed on its walls.

More than two dozen settlers, some masked, attacked the Al-Taqwa mosque in the village of Al-Tuwani during the night and set it on fire, Mohammed Rabie, head of the village council, told AFP.

The settlers also set fire to two houses and a dairy factory, he said, adding the attackers spray-painted Hebrew graffiti on the walls of the mosque.

Rabie said the settlers fled after villagers emerged from their homes, adding that local volunteers managed to extinguish the flames before they spread further.

🎥لحظة هجوم المستوطنين على قرية "التوانة" بمسافر يطا جنوب الخليل، وإضرام النيران في مسجدٍ بالقرية. pic.twitter.com/3ZLvEoILPY

— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) July 19, 2026

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Sunday that two ships were involved in an "accident" after attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz via an "unsafe route", while two other vessels abandoned that route, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

The Guards said the four vessels had ignored Iranian warnings and acted with U.S. backing.

"Vessels that are influenced by the words of the Americans and enter unsafe routes will certainly face accidents," the Guards warned in a statement.

The international airport and seaport in Aqaba in southern Jordan was evacuated because of a "specific and credible threat", the U.S. embassy said on X on Sunday. "We strongly advise all Americans to refrain (from) travelling to either the airport or seaport. Continue to follow all Jordanian authorities’ security directives," the embassy said, without providing further details.

Jordanian authorities have not yet released a statement on the matter and the Jordanian information minister did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Security Alert: U.S. Embassy Amman - July 19. 2026

Due to a specific and credible threat, Jordanian authorities evacuated the international airport and seaport in Aqaba. We strongly advise all Americans to refrain traveling to either the airport or seaport. Continue to follow… pic.twitter.com/POmmwxYVsZ

— U.S. Embassy Amman (@USEmbassyJordan) July 19, 2026

Bahrain's air defences intercepted an Iranian attack, according to the kingdom's state TV on Sunday.

The widening US-Iran conflict is increasingly targeting critical civilian infrastructure, raising fears over the security of electricity, water and transport networks across the Gulf.

Recent strikes have hit bridges, power stations, desalination plants, airports and energy facilities, prompting concerns that essential services and regional trade could face growing disruption if the fighting continues.

A drone strike in Iraq's Kurdistan region wounded eight Iranian Kurdish rebels on Sunday, an exiled opposition group said, blaming the attack on Iran.

Adib Khaldian from the exiled Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) told AFP "at 02:00 am (2300 GMT Saturday), Iranian forces attacked with a drone" a camp belonging to the party near Erbil.

"Eight of our members were wounded," Khaldian said, blaming the attack on Iran.

On Friday, drone and rocket attacks also blamed on Iran killed nine members of the Komala Party, another Iranian Kurdish opposition group.

The latest attacks are the biggest escalation against these groups, which Iran has continued to strike even after a ceasefire was announced in April.

Explosions were heard in the southern Lebanese town of Khiam and the village of Deir Yassine on Sunday.

It wasn't immediately clear what the cause of the explosions were, but Israeli forces have continued with home demolitions in areas under occupation. Israel has razed dozens of towns and villages along the border since invading in 2024.

Despite a lull in fighting and relative calm, a number of Israeli strikes were reported in the Nabatiyeh district and surrounding areas on Saturday.

Kuwait's military said on Sunday it was responding to aerial salvos fired by Iran a day after the Gulf state faced barrages from the Islamic republic that struck a power plant and oil facility.

"Kuwaiti air defenses are currently confronting hostile missile and drone attacks, following the sinful Iranian aggression," the army said in a statement, as an AFP journalist reported warning sirens sounding in Kuwait City.