The United States and Iran continued exchanging strikes across the Middle East on Monday, with both sides expanding attacks on each other's targets in the region. As military confrontation intensified, Tehran said diplomatic channels remained active, confirming it had received proposals from mediators on a possible ceasefire and the resumption of negotiations.

The latest developments came as Iran and the United States traded accusations over a series of attacks, raising concerns that the confrontation could further spread across the region.

Iran says it received proposals from mediators

Iran has received proposals from mediators, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday.

Baghaei made the remarks at a weekly press conference in Tehran without giving details, when asked whether he could confirm reports about new proposals from Qatar for the revival of US-Iran negotiations and a 10-day ceasefire.

Baghaei stressed that Iran's diplomatic efforts remain active alongside its military responses to US attacks, while condemning recent US strikes against civilian infrastructure, including bridges and medical centers, as violating "people's rights to life, security and human dignity."

Regarding the peace memorandum of understanding signed with Washington on June 18, he said the agreement's "text is completely clear," and Washington has no pretext to breach its promises under it.

He said Tehran adhered to a "commitment for commitment" principle until Washington repeatedly violated its commitments, prompting Tehran to cease its own obligations.

On the Strait of Hormuz, he affirmed Iran's resolve to exercise its sovereignty over the waterway and prevent any "misuse" against its interests.

Washington and Tehran exchange attacks, deepening regional tensions

Despite the reported diplomatic moves through mediators, military actions between the two sides continued to escalate.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Monday that its forces had launched missile and drone strikes earlier in the day against US assets and facilities in Jordan and Kuwait in retaliation.

In statements published on its official news outlet Sepah News, the IRGC said it struck with ballistic missiles the US Boeing C-17 Globemaster III and Boeing P-8 Poseidon aircraft at an airport in Jordan's port city of Aqaba, and heavily damaged a number of them.

It added its forces attacked with drones and destroyed an American early warning radar system in Kuwait, and targeted a warehouse of equipment and aircraft parts as well as a hangar of MQ-9 Reaper drones at the Ali Al Salem Air Base, setting on fire a number of the unmanned aerial vehicles.

The IRGC said the attacks were in retaliation for the US frequent aggressions against Iran's territory.

In a post on social media platform X early Monday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces had "successfully completed the ninth consecutive evening of strikes against Iran."

It added, "CENTCOM assets targeted Iranian military command centers, air defense and coastal surveillance sites, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and communications networks to further diminish Iran's ability to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners transiting the Strait of Hormuz."

In another statement released early Monday, the IRGC reiterated its warning that as long as the United States continues its "malicious actions" in the West Asia region, the Strait of Hormuz will not be safe for the shipment of oil, gas and chemical fertilizers.

As the confrontation deepened, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also adopted increasingly strong rhetoric to describe the state of relations with Washington, saying his country is in "full-scale war" with US.

Regional countries voice concerns as conflict risks spreading

As the exchanges of strikes intensified, the widening conflict has raised concerns among countries across the region over the risk of further escalation.

The General Command of the Bahrain Defense Force said on Monday that its air defense systems intercepted and destroyed multiple Iranian aerial attacks against the kingdom.

In a statement, the General Command urged the public to exercise caution, avoid approaching any unfamiliar or suspicious objects left from the attacks' remnants, and report them immediately.

It condemned what it called Iran's "systematic hostile approach," saying the "deliberate use of missiles and drones to target civilians and private property" violates international humanitarian law.

Meanwhile, an Iraqi armed group warned that any further escalation could trigger a broader confrontation involving US interests across the Middle East.

The group warned it would directly engage in military action against US targets if Washington "expands its aggression against Iran."

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group for pro-Iranian militias, said it would target all US "interests and bases" in Iraq and the wider region with "full force and determination" in the event of an escalation.

The group also noted it did not carry out any attacks against US bases in Iraq and the region during the past few days.

CENTCOM confirmed on Sunday that a US service member was killed and another wounded in action in northern Iraq during a controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian one-way attack drone on Saturday.

(With input from Xinhua)