Iran launched fresh missile and drone strikes on US military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait on Friday, hours after the US military completed its sixth consecutive night of strikes on Iranian territory, as the fragile ceasefire that ended last month’s war between the two countries collapsed into an unrelenting cycle of daily attacks and counterattacks.
US Central Command said its forces, including fighter jets, aerial drones, and warships, launched precision munitions that hit dozens of Iranian military targets such as coastal surveillance and air defence sites, military logistics infrastructure, and maritime capabilities, including on Qeshm Island and near Bandar Abbas, home to Iran’s largest port and key navy and Revolutionary Guards facilities.
Seven people were killed in US strikes on bridges in Bandar Khamir, a port city in southern Iran. Iranian media also reported hits on a train station in coastal Bandar Khamir and Iranshahr Airport in southeastern Iran. Several explosion-like sounds were heard in the Qatari capital Doha, and Qatar’s Interior Ministry confirmed a child was injured by shrapnel.
The escalation has once again effectively shut down commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most critical chokepoint for oil and gas, pushing global energy prices sharply higher. Tehran resumed its blockade of the strait while Washington reinstated a blockade of Iranian ports from Wednesday. Iran has also signalled it could activate the Houthi movement in Yemen to close the Bab al-Mandeb strait at the mouth of the Red Sea if the US continues striking Iranian infrastructure.
Iran wants all ships using the Strait of Hormuz to travel through a channel close to its shores and intends to charge passage fees at the end of a 60-day negotiation period set in last month’s memorandum.
Trump has threatened to strike Iranian power plants and bridges the following week unless Tehran resumes negotiations, while simultaneously leaving open the door to diplomacy.
