US strikes on Iran hit airport, railway, bridges; Iran retaliates with missile attacks
Overnight US strikes hit an airport, railway station, and bridges in Iran, killing seven. Iran retaliated with missile attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar, while the US tightened its naval blockade and conducted a sixth consecutive night of air strikes.
The United States launched overnight strikes on multiple targets in Iran, hitting Iranshahr airport, a railway station in Bandar Abbas, and two bridges in Hormozgan province, according to Iranian state media. The attack on the bridges left seven people dead, as reported by state and semi-official outlets.
Meanwhile, US forces boarded a commercial vessel, the M/T Wen Yao, in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday as part of a renewed blockade of Iranian ports that began earlier this week. The US military said the boarding was to ensure compliance with the blockade. A day earlier, US aircraft fired on and disabled an unladen oil tanker attempting to breach the blockade.
Iran retaliated by launching missile attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait, and on Friday a barrage of missiles targeted Qatar, prompting authorities there to warn the public to take shelter. Air defenses intercepted some of the missiles. The US Central Command stated it had hit dozens of Iranian targets in the latest strikes, which concluded at dawn Friday, marking the sixth consecutive night of American attacks.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed it targeted and destroyed US fighter jets and tankers stationed in Jordan using ballistic missiles and drones. The US did not immediately comment, while Jordan reported shooting down three incoming Iranian missiles earlier on Friday.
Elsewhere, a tanker was hit by an unknown projectile off the coast of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz, causing minor structural damage but no injuries, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations. In Iraq, a drone struck a ship carrying American-branded cars off the port of Basra.
Iran's health ministry reported that 38 people have been killed in US attacks since a ceasefire last month was broken, with over 400 injured, including women and children. Iran also accused the US of striking near a children's cancer hospital in Ahvaz, forcing an evacuation.
The interim ceasefire agreed in June fell apart on July 8, and the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed to shipping. Oil prices rose to near one-month highs, with Brent crude briefly exceeding $86 a barrel before settling lower.
In related developments, Yemen's Houthi leader threatened to target Saudi oil facilities if Riyadh escalates involvement, and the Gaza reconstruction plan pursued by Trump's Board of Peace has been scaled back to a small pilot project not expected to materialize before year-end.
