DUBAI — Iran launched attacks on U.S. military infrastructure across several Gulf countries on Thursday, marking a sharp escalation in regional tensions after a new wave of American airstrikes targeted military sites inside Iran.

The attacks came as Iran prepared to bury its late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the northeastern city of Mashhad following a week of large funeral processions. Khamenei was killed in a U.S. airstrike on the opening day of the war on February 28.

Thousands of mourners lined the streets as Khamenei's coffin was transported to the Imam Reza Shrine, Iran's holiest religious site. Supporters waved Iranian flags and carried portraits of the late leader while chanting revolutionary slogans.

Meanwhile, Iran's armed forces said they had targeted U.S. military assets in Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan in retaliation for recent American strikes on southern and eastern Iran.

The Iranian military claimed it struck Patriot air defense systems in Kuwait, an American early-warning facility in Qatar, a U.S. military fuel depot in Bahrain, and later said it launched ballistic missiles toward Jordan's Azraq Air Base, which hosts American forces.

Kuwait reported intercepting cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and multiple drones over its airspace, while Jordan said its air defense systems shot down several incoming missiles without causing casualties or significant damage. Qatar condemned the attacks and urged all sides to return to diplomacy.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also warned that any additional U.S. military action would receive what it described as a "crushing response."

The escalation follows renewed U.S. strikes on Iranian military infrastructure after attacks on three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Washington said its operations were intended to keep the strategic shipping route open and blamed Tehran for threatening maritime security.

U.S. Central Command said American forces struck around 90 Iranian military targets, including air defense systems, coastal surveillance assets, missile storage facilities, drone sites and naval infrastructure.

Iranian state media reported that the latest U.S. strikes killed at least 14 people and injured 78 others across five provinces. Authorities also said one strike damaged a railway bridge used for trade with Russia and China, while explosions were reported near Bushehr and Bandar Abbas. An Iranian official said a U.S. projectile landed near the Bushehr nuclear power plant.

Iran has continued to tighten control over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, saying only vessels following routes approved by Tehran are being allowed to transit. Iranian officials said traffic has recovered to roughly half of pre-war levels but warned that the waterway would only fully reopen under Iranian arrangements.

Despite the military escalation, U.S. President Donald Trump said he does not expect the confrontation to develop into a full-scale war.

"This is a response to Iran attacking ships," Trump wrote on Truth Social, warning that any repeat would bring a much stronger response. Speaking later to reporters, he added that while anything is possible, he believes any further confrontation would end quickly and ultimately improve regional security, including stability in global energy markets.