The US struck bridges, energy facilities, and a key Iranian port on Friday, expanding its air campaign against Iran and quickly prompting Iranian retaliatory strikes on US allies in the Middle East.
According to Iranian state TV, US airstrikes hit bridges in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province, killing at least seven people. These bridges were a major transit point for Bandar Abbas, Iran’s main port. Additional US airstrikes brought down a tower in Chabahar port on the Gulf of Oman and targeted key electrical infrastructure as well as Iranshahr airport.
Iran’s energy ministry told citizens to cut back on electricity and air conditioning use after the power grid came under strain from US strikes on energy facilities. The ministry noted that areas in the south “are currently experiencing extreme heat and attacks on power infrastructure,” as temperatures in Iran soared.
Human rights experts have said that strikes on civilian infrastructure not being used for military purposes could amount to war crimes.
By Friday morning, the days of US strikes had killed at least 38 people and wounded more than 400 in Iran, according to Hossein Kermanpour, a spokesperson for Iran’s health ministry.
The attacks appeared to follow through on Donald Trump’s promise to expand strikes against Iran, including targeting infrastructure and power plants. The US president reportedly met with senior department heads this week to discuss an expanded air campaign aimed at forcing Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The current round of fighting has entered its seventh day and further weakened the interim deal between Iran and the US, which was meant to keep the strait open and allow room for negotiations toward a permanent truce. Iran has closed the strait, and the US reimposed its blockade of Iranian ports and ships on Wednesday.
After the US strikes on Friday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned of a “devastating price” for countries hosting US bases if American attacks on infrastructure continued.
“The American enemy and the hosts of its bases in the region should know that crossing red lines and attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure will have a very severe and devastating price to pay,” the IRGC said in a statement.
In response to the US strikes, the Iranian military targeted Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Oman, and Qatar. Qatar, one of the mediators between the US and Iran, had mostly been spared from Iranian retaliation in recent rounds of violence. Qatari authorities said falling debris wounded a child as air defenses intercepted missiles.
In Kuwait, authorities reported that Iranian strikes hit a power and desalination plant, damaging the water facility. The country relies on desalinated water for about 90% of its drinking water. Officials said they were working to assess the damage and get the plant running again.
Strikes in Iraqi Kurdistan killed eight members of armed Kurdish opposition groups, which the groups blamed on Iran. Tehran also claimed to have struck the al-Tanf military base in Syria, though Syrian authorities denied this to Agence France-Presse.
The renewed fighting has centered on the Strait of Hormuz, which handled about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supply before the war. Although the memorandum of understanding signed by the US and Iran last month stated that the strait should remain open to traffic, both sides interpreted the deal differently.
Washington and Tehran put forward competing plans for ships to transit the strait, with Iran attacking some ships that took the US route. Shipping in the waterway has been drastically reduced over the last few days as violence escalated, though most ships that continued to transit used the Iranian route.
A tanker traveling through the strait on the route closest to Oman came under attack on Friday, according to the British military. The tanker sustained minor damage but no casualties were reported.None of its crew were hurt. Iran did not take responsibility for the attack.
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US Marines boarded the M/T Wen Yao in the Gulf of Oman yesterday as part of an exercise to enforce the naval blockade. Photograph: x.com/Centcom
American forces boarded a ship in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday as part of the renewed blockade of Iran’s ports that began earlier this week, the US military said. US Marines boarded the M/T Wen Yao “to ensure full compliance with the ongoing US naval blockade,” US Central Command (Centcom) said in a post on X.
Centcom also said it had “redirected” three commercial vessels that were “trying to run the blockade” since it took effect at 8pm GMT on Tuesday. The day before, a US aircraft fired on and disabled an empty oil tanker that attempted to break the blockade.
Iran has asked its allies in Yemen, the Houthis, to be ready to close the oil route through the Red Sea if the US targets Iranian energy infrastructure, Reuters reported. If carried out, this threat could paralyze the global energy market.
The Houthi leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, also threatened that all Saudi oil and other critical facilities could be targeted by the group if Riyadh intervened in Yemen. The threat came after Saudi Arabia struck Sana’a airport, leading to retaliatory missile strikes from the Houthis on Saudi Arabia.
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Marines onboard the M/T Wen Yao in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday. Photograph: x.com/Centcom
Weekly cargo shipments through the Strait of Hormuz dropped by nearly a quarter at the beginning of the month, according to the maritime data firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence. And that was before the recent surge in tit-for-tat attacks.
Given the risks, some oil shippers are moving through the strait with their location devices turned off, but many are simply staying put, Lloyd’s said on Thursday. A growing amount of the region’s energy is being shipped through pipelines, but not nearly enough to make up for the decline in shipping through the strait.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry said on Thursday that efforts were still underway to bring the US and Tehran to the negotiating table, but acknowledged that this was becoming increasingly difficult.
Despite the escalating conflict and disruption to trade, Trump said the war was going well for the US. “We are likewise winning big in Iran, and you will see the fruits of that labour very, very shortly,” Trump said in an address to the American public.
The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs regarding the reported expansion of US strikes against Iran covering a range of question levels
BeginnerLevel Questions
1 Is the US at war with Iran now
Not a fullscale war but the US has significantly expanded its military strikes inside Iran These are targeted attacks on specific infrastructure not an invasion or a declaration of war
2 Why is the US striking bridges and energy facilities
The stated goal is to disrupt Irans ability to move military supplies produce fuel for its military and control key logistics routes Hitting bridges and ports makes it harder for Iran to move troops or equipment while energy facilities aim to cut off power to military command centers
3 What does expanding strikes mean exactly
It means the US is now hitting targets it previously avoided Instead of just targeting military bases or missile sites it is now hitting critical civilian infrastructure like bridges power plants and a major commercial port
4 Which port was targeted
Reports indicate the strikes hit the port of Bandar Abbas a major hub for both commercial shipping and the Iranian navy This is a key point for importing goods and exporting oil
5 Will this affect gas prices or the economy
Yes very likely Striking a key oil port and energy facilities can disrupt global oil supply causing gas prices to rise It also increases uncertainty in financial markets which can slow down the global economy
IntermediateLevel Questions
6 How is this different from previous US strikes on Iran
Previous strikes were mostly limited to proxy forces or specific military assets This new wave directly targets Irans national infrastructure and economic lifelines marking a major escalation in direct confrontation
7 Are these strikes against international law
It is highly controversial The US claims it is acting in selfdefense under Article 51 of the UN Charter Critics argue that targeting civilian infrastructure violates the laws of war which require attacks to be proportional and to distinguish between military and civilian objects
8 What is Irans likely response
Iran could retaliate by
Attacking US bases in the Middle East
Using its proxies to strike US allies
Blocking the Strait of Hormuz which would cripple global oil shipments
