Iran war: US hits bridges as Tehran retaliates across region

Oil and gas producers in the Gulf are seeking alternatives to the Strait of Hormuz as traffic again comes under fire. But is Iran also turning its attention to the pipelines meant to bypass the waterway?

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Iran’s Energy Ministry called on its citizens to save electricity due to US attacks on energy infrastructure in southern Iran. 

The ministry urged citizens to switch off air conditioners in peak hours “to help ensure a stable electricity supply in the southern province, which are currently facing extreme heat and attacks on electricity supply facilities.”   

It is the first time since the US-Israel war against Iran began on February 28 that Iran has acknowledged attacks on its electricity infrastructure. 

UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said a vessel was “boarded by unauthorized personnel” 65 nautical miles south of Al Mukalla, Yemen.  

The maritime agency said the ship was “transiting east in the Gulf of Aden” and that “authorities are investigating.” 

The statement added that “vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO.”

It was not immediately clear who had boarded the vessel.

Reuters reported, based on maritime security sources, that the incident is believed to be related to Somali piracy. The vessel is now believed to be heading toward the Somali port of Bosaso.  

The Kuwaiti government said an Iranian attack damaged a power and desalination station. 

Kuwait’s Electricity Water and Renewable Energy Ministry said the attack ignited a fire and damaged “a large number of electricity generation units.” The Kuwaiti government said it has since extinguished the blaze. 

About 90% of Kuwait’s water supply is derived from desalination. 

Kuwaiti authorities have urged citizens to reduce electricity consumption to maintain the stability of the nation’s power grid.

Iran has previously targeted Kuwait’s power and desalination plants during the war, along with other civilian infrastructure such as Kuwait International Airport.  

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they targeted US military jets stationed in Jordan. 

The IRGC said they destroyed “several US refueling aircraft and fighter jets” and did “serious damage to many more.”

The IRGC urged the Jordanian population to go against “the interests of the aggressive and anti-Islamic Americans” in Jordan. 

Jordan is home to Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, which is operated by the Royal Jordanian Air Force and also used by the American military. The US has designated Jordan as a major non-NATO ally   

At least nine Iranian Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq were killed in a missile attack.

Rudaw, a broadcaster based in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, reported the rebels were a part of the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan.

A commander of the group told Rudaw that “our main headquarters in Zirgwez was struck by six missiles.” The commander expects the death toll to rise as a fire is still burning through the Kurdish base. 

The Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan, which is based in Iraqi Kurdistan, seeks greater self-determination for the Kurds of Iran and is opposed to Iran’s theocratic government. The party has an armed wing.  

Idriss Kohlwazi, a member of the Komala Party, told AFP news agency that the attack was carried out by the “Iranian regime.”

Earlier in the US-Israeli war with Iran, there were reports that the US government would arm Kurdish rebels in an attempt to overthrow the Iranian government.

The Iranian government and Iraqi militas aligned with Tehran have frequently carried out attacks on Kurdish opposition groups in Iraq in recent months.    

Qatar, Bahrainand Jordan all said they intercepted fresh aerial strikes from Iran. 

The Qatari Ministry of Defense, in a post on social media platform X, said the Gulf country’s armed forces “have intercepted a missile attack that targeted the State of Qatar.” Qatar’s Interior Ministry later said a child was wounded due to falling debris because of the interception.  

Bahrain’s military, known as the Bahrain Defense Force, also said it intercepted several Iranian aerial attacks on Friday. 

Jordan’s military added that it had intercepted three Iranian missiles.

“This Friday morning, air defense systems intercepted three Iranian missiles that entered Jordanian airspace and were targeted the kingdom’s territory, and managed to intercept and bring them down,” the Jordanian military said in a statement. 

Qatar, Bahrain and Jordan are all allies of the US in the Middle East and are home to military bases used by US armed forces.   

A tanker has been struck by an unknown projectile off the coast of Oman, ‌the United ​Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported on Friday.

The vessel was sailing 19 ​nautical ‌miles (35 kilometers) east of ‌Khasab, Oman, when it was struck, the UKMTO said.

The organization said that all crew were reported safe as the incident caused “minor structural damage” to the port side of the vessel. 

The British agency added that no environmental impact was reported. 

Iran’s health ministry on Friday announced that at least 38 people have died and more than 400 have been injured since the fighting with the US resumed last month over the control of the Strait of Hormuz.

“The number of injured from US attacks has exceeded 400, and 38 compatriots have been martyred” since June 22, Tehran’s health ministry spokesman Hossein Kermanpour wrote on X. 

“Among them are 22 injured women, three martyred women, nine injured under the age of 18, and one martyr under 18,” he added.

China and Pakistan have called for a ceasefire and the resumption of a dialogue between the US and Iran.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Islamabad counterpart Ishaq Dar jointly “expressed concern over the deterioration of the current situation, calling on the involved parties to immediately cease hostilities… (and) return to dialogue”, China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement after the ministers met in Shanghai. 

Wang said that agreement was “hard-won,” adding that “peace is before our eyes, (we) cannot fall at the last hurdle and even more so cannot lose what we have gained.”

Both China and Pakistan have been mediating in the months-long war in Iran and the wider Middle East. 

US strikes on Friday appear to have collapsed a tower at Iran’s key Chabahar port in the Gulf of Oman.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared an image purportedly showing a surveillance tower leaning towards the ground, surrounded by a thick cloud of grey smoke.

Chabahar port is an important trade conduit for Iran’s landlocked neighbor Afghanistan and had been running with India’s support.

The facility has seen repeated US strikes.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Friday that it had attacked the US special operations command centre at al-Tanf in Syria as a response to the killing of Iranian troops in Iranshahr, Tehran’s state media reported.

“The IRGC announces a surprise attack on the enemy’s Special Operations Command Center in Syria’s Al-Tanf region in retaliation for the blood of the martyred Iranian soldiers in Iranshahr,” the state broadcaster Tasnim posted on Telegram. 

There was no immediate statement from the Syrian government ​or the US military.

Syria has tried to avoid being pulled into the Middle East war, which has engulfed its neighbors Lebanon and Iraq.

In February, the US military announced that it had completed a withdrawal from the al-Tanf base, which stands at the border confluence of Syria, Jordan and Iraq.

At least seven people were killed in US airstrikes on bridges in the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Khamir, according to Iran’s state news agency IRNA.

The strikes mark a widening of the US military campaign against Iran, with US forces increasingly targeting infrastructure after President Donald Trump warned that bridges and other key facilities could be hit.

US Central Command said it struck dozens of targets during its latest overnight operation, the sixth consecutive night of American attacks. Iranian media also reported strikes near Tehran and in Semnan province.

Meanwhile, Iran launched fresh missile attacks against US-allied countries in the Gulf. Qatar twice urged residents to seek shelter as air defenses intercepted incoming missiles, with officials reporting that a child was injured by falling debris.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that it had completed its latest major wave of strikes against Iran on Friday.

The US had earlier launched a sixth consecutive night of strikes on Iran.

Friday’s statement from CENTCOM said US forces, including fighter jets, aerial drones and warships, had hit “dozens of Iranian military targets” such as coastal surveillance and air defense sites, military logistics infrastructure and maritime capabilities by launching precision munitions.

“CENTCOM is further degrading Iranian military capabilities and holding Iran accountable for recent attacks on commercial shipping,” the statement added.

Kuwait’s air defenses were again engaged in thwarting Iranian missile and drone attacks, the Kuwaiti military said on Friday. 

A statement from the Kuwait General Staff of the Army said explosions heard over the country were the result of its air defense systems intercepting the latest volley of aerial attacks.