The U.S. military announced that it carried out its seventh consecutive night of strikes against Iran on Friday, as clashes intensified around the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. Central Command stated on X that the operation, which started at 19:00 GMT, aims to “continue degrading Iranian military capabilities.”
Iran’s energy ministry urged citizens to curb electricity and air‑conditioning usage after the power grid was strained by U.S. strikes on energy sites. Officials reported that southern regions were enduring “extreme heat combined with attacks on power infrastructure” as temperatures surged.
Attacking civilian infrastructure that is not being used for military purposes may amount to a war crime, according to human‑rights experts.
Renewed U.S. strikes had killed at least 38 people and injured more than 400 by Friday morning, a spokesperson for Iran’s health ministry, Hossein Kermanpour, reported.
The attacks seemed to be the continuation of former President Donald Trump’s pledge to broaden strikes on Iran, including the targeting of infrastructure and power plants. The U.S. president reportedly convened senior officials this week to discuss an expanded aerial campaign aimed at compelling Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Following the Friday strikes, the IRGC warned that any nation hosting U.S. bases could face a “devastating price” if American attacks on infrastructure persist.
“The American enemy and the countries that host its regional bases must understand that crossing red lines and attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure will incur a very severe and devastating price,” the IRGC declared in a statement.
Iran’s military retaliated against U.S. strikes by targeting Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Oman, and Qatar. Qatar, a key mediator between Washington and Tehran, had largely been spared from Iranian retaliation in recent hostilities. Qatari authorities reported that falling debris wounded a child as air‑defences intercepted incoming missiles.
In Kuwait, officials reported that Iranian strikes damaged a power and desalination plant, impairing the water facility. The country depends on desalinated water for roughly 90% of its drinking supply, and authorities said they are working to assess the damage and restore operations.
Renewed fighting has centered on the Strait of Hormuz, which before the conflict handled roughly one‑fifth of global oil and gas shipments. Although a memorandum of understanding signed by the United States and Iran last month stipulated that the Strait of Hormuz should remain open to traffic, the two parties have interpreted the agreement differently.
Washington and Tehran have proposed competing routes for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran striking several vessels that opted for the U.S.-designated path. Shipping traffic through the waterway has dropped sharply in recent days amid the escalating violence, though most vessels that continue to move have used the Iranian‑aligned route.
Iran’s Tasnim News Agency later cited an informed source claiming that a Thai‑flagged vessel was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday after it allegedly ignored warnings and attempted to pass without permission from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard naval forces.
Iranian state media also reported that the United States struck an empty oil tanker docked at Kharg Island, Iran’s primary oil export terminal on the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. forces boarded a vessel in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday as part of the renewed blockade of Iran’s ports that commenced earlier in the week, according to the U.S. military. U.S. Central Command also announced that it had “redirected” three commercial ships attempting to breach the blockade since it took effect at 20:00 GMT on Tuesday. The previous day, a U.S. aircraft fired on and disabled an unladen oil tanker that tried to breach the blockade.
Iran has urged its allies in Yemen, the Houthi movement, to be prepared to close the Red Sea oil corridor if the United States targets Iranian energy infrastructure, Reuters reported. Such a move could paralyze the global energy market.
Houthi leader Abdul Malik al‑Houthis also warned that all Saudi oil facilities and other critical infrastructure could be targeted if Riyadh intervenes in Yemen. The warning follows Saudi airstrikes on Sana’a airport, which prompted retaliatory missile strikes from the Houthis against Saudi Arabia.
Weekly cargo shipments through the Strait of Hormuz fell by nearly a quarter at the start of the month, according to maritime data firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence, before a recent surge in reciprocal attacks.
Given the risks, some oil shippers are transiting the Strait of Hormuz with their location signals disabled, while many others are remaining stationary, Lloyd’s noted on Thursday. An increasing share of the region’s energy is now moving through pipelines, though this does not compensate for the overall decline in maritime shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
On Thursday, Pakistan’s foreign ministry stated that efforts to bring the United States and Tehran back to the negotiating table continue, though they are becoming increasingly challenging.
Despite the escalating conflict and disrupted trade, former President Trump asserted that the war is proceeding favorably for the United States. “We are likewise winning big in Iran, and you will see the fruits of that labour very, very shortly,” he declared in an address to the American public.
The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report
