The Kabul Tribune (KT) — Iran launched fresh attacks on U.S. facilities in the Gulf on Friday after six consecutive nights of U.S. strikes on Iranian military sites, as a recent truce collapsed into a cycle of daily attacks and counterattacks, Reuters reported.
The U.S. military said it carried out another round of strikes against Iran to further weaken its military capabilities, targeting areas including Qeshm Island and locations near Bandar Abbas, home to Iran’s largest port and key naval and Revolutionary Guards facilities.
The U.S. Central Command said in a statement that American forces, including fighter jets, aerial drones and warships, used precision weapons to strike dozens of Iranian military targets, including coastal surveillance systems, air defense sites, military logistics infrastructure and maritime capabilities.
Iran has responded by launching missiles and drones toward U.S. military bases in neighboring countries, including an air base in Jordan.
In the early hours of Friday, Iran’s military said it had targeted U.S. facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait. Witnesses reported hearing several explosion-like sounds in Qatar’s capital, Doha, while the Ministry of Interior said a child was injured by shrapnel.
Iranian media reported that the latest U.S. strikes hit five bridges, a train station in the coastal city of Bandar Khamir and Iranshahr Airport in southeastern Iran. Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported that seven people were killed in U.S. attacks on bridges in Bandar Khamir, a southern port city.
Reuters said it could not independently verify the reports.
The escalation has once again severely disrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important routes for oil and gas shipments, contributing to a rise in global energy prices.
Tehran resumed restrictions on shipping through the strait, while Washington again imposed a blockade on Iranian ports starting Wednesday.
Iran has indicated that it could encourage its Houthi allies in Yemen to close another strategic waterway, the Bab al-Mandeb Strait at the entrance to the Red Sea, if the United States attacks Iranian infrastructure, sources told Reuters.
Iran recently targeted ships traveling through a corridor in the Strait of Hormuz. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday that U.S. President Donald Trump would not allow what she described as “active acts of terrorism” in the strait without consequences for Iran.
However, she added that Trump remained open to diplomacy.
Iranian officials told Reuters that Tehran’s objective was to establish control over the Strait of Hormuz, while avoiding an escalation that could undermine a June memorandum of understanding, which Iran still considers favorable to its interests.
Inside Iran, renewed airstrikes have increased public anxiety.
“Living with this fear that war could start again is very exhausting. You cannot live like this. Personally, I want diplomacy to prevail,” Mahlegha, a 46-year-old government employee in Tehran, told Reuters.
Iran wants all ships using the Strait of Hormuz to pass through a route close to its coastline and plans to impose transit fees after a 60-day negotiation period outlined in last month’s memorandum.
The United States had encouraged ships to use an alternative route farther south along Oman’s coast.
U.S. forces said their airstrikes targeted military facilities along Iran’s coastline to reduce Tehran’s ability to control the strait. Iranian Army spokesperson Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia said the strategy would not succeed, arguing that Iran could strike the waterway from any location inside the country.
President Trump has not ruled out deploying ground forces, including a possible operation to seize Kharg Island, the location of Iran’s main oil export terminal. He has also repeated threats to target Iranian power plants and bridges next week if Tehran does not return to negotiations.
Source: Reuters
