A SERIES of unclaimed air strikes that hit Iran after the US said it had finished its attacks have again raised questions of who else may be targeting the Islamic Republic.

The strikes on Thursday night, just as Iran prepared to bury the late supreme leader ayatollah Ali Khamenei, hit areas across southern Iran.

The country’s theocracy hasn’t directly blamed anyone for the strikes, though one politician issued a warning to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over allegedly providing support to the US.

Gulf Arab states — which have been repeatedly targeted by Iran since the war began following the US and Israel’s unprovoked attacks on February 28 — did not immediately respond to requests for comment today.

The attacks come as they and the US insist the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for world energy markets, must be reopened and free to ships, which it was before the war.

Iran says the strait must now be under its sole control and that vessels should begin to pay fees to Tehran — even though the world for decades has considered it an international waterway. About a fifth of all fossil fuels transited the strait before the war began.

Iran’s grip on the strait during the conflict led to a global energy crisis, though oil prices have sharply dropped from wartime highs of $120 (£89) a barrel.

Israel also has not claimed any recent attacks on Iran.

The US military’s Central Command said on Thursday morning that it had concluded a round of strikes that saw 90 targets hit.

Shortly after that, Iranian news outlets and state media reported a series of air strikes and explosions targeting the country’s Bushehr and Sistan and Baluchestan provinces, the cities of Ahvaz and Chabahar and other areas.

An anonymous US defence official told reporters today that there had been no new US strikes since the last round ended Thursday morning.

Iranian state media today quoted Esmail Kousari, a member of the Iranian parliament’s national security committee, as saying the UAE would “pay the price for its co-operation with the United States.”

He accused the Emirates of having a “behind-the-scenes” role in the recent US attacks.