Why is Iran bombing Gulf states while avoiding US naval assets and Israel?

What the report says

Al Jazeera reports that Iran is responding to expanded United States strikes by attacking targets in Gulf states and Jordan, while not directly hitting nearby US naval forces or Israel. The article, published July 20, 2026, says Washington has struck Iranian transport, energy, telecommunications and water infrastructure, and that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has attacked civilian airports and water and power facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain.

Analysts cited by Al Jazeera said Tehran appears to be trying to raise pressure on President Donald Trump without triggering a much larger conflict. Retired Lebanese Brigadier General Elias Hanna said US naval assets would be hard to strike and that an attack on them would likely bring a severe US response. Kuwaiti political scientist Abdullah al-Shayji argued Iran knows US missiles are being launched from aircraft carriers near Iran’s coast, but is avoiding actions that could kill US personnel.

The report describes a dispute over Iran’s justification for targeting Gulf countries. Atifeh Taghiani of the University of Tehran said Iran believes US operations are being supported from Gulf territory and has a right to respond to countries used for attacks. Al-Shayji rejected that as Iranian propaganda, saying Gulf states told Tehran their land would not be used for offensive action and that Iran has provided no proof.

Al Jazeera also cited Qatar University’s Abdullah Bandar al-Otaibi, who said both Iran and the US are choosing targets selectively and neither appears to want full-scale war. The article frames the attacks as dangerous for regional stability, especially because Gulf desalination and airport infrastructure are civilian lifelines and any large casualty event could widen the conflict.