https://arab.news/bzgxj
- Iran targets US-linked assets in Kuwait and Jordan as strikes widen across region
- Attacks on bridges, energy facilities and shipping raise fears of wider escalation
RIYADH/DUBAI/TEHRAN: The United States and Iran traded attacks across the Middle East for a seventh consecutive night on Friday, with Washington striking Iranian military and infrastructure targets and Tehran launching attacks against US assets and allies including Kuwait and Jordan, as the collapse of a short-lived ceasefire pushed the conflict toward a wider regional war.
The latest escalation came after a brief agreement to halt hostilities and pave the way for negotiations collapsed on July 7. Since then, the two sides have resumed near-daily attacks, with the United States reimposing a naval blockade of Iranian ports and Iran effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global energy supplies.
US Central Command said its forces had completed their seventh consecutive night of strikes against Iran, using fighter aircraft, drones, warships and other assets to target surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage and maritime capabilities.
“More than 50,000 American service members are operating across the Middle East and remain vigilant, lethal, and ready,” CENTCOM said.
Iran, meanwhile, said it had struck US military targets in Kuwait and Jordan in retaliation for the American attacks.
Iran targets US assets in Kuwait, Jordan
Iranian forces targeted an ammunition depot at Kuwait’s Al-Adiri camp, headquarters buildings and ammunition depots at Ali Al-Salem air base and several communication bridges, Iranian state television reported, citing the army.
In Jordan, Iranian forces targeted fuel tanks at the Al-Azraq base, according to the report.
Jordan’s military said it intercepted three Iranian missiles launched toward the kingdom. Kuwait’s army said explosions were heard as its air defense systems intercepted hostile targets, while several Kuwaiti military facilities were damaged in Iranian drone and missile attacks.
Iranian attacks also targeted US-linked assets elsewhere in the region. Iranian Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted US radar systems and military aircraft in Qatar, which has been involved in mediation efforts, while Bahrain reported air raid sirens as Iran targeted US military assets on the island.
Iran also claimed attacks on two US radar sites in Oman. A Syrian military source denied an Iranian claim that the Al-Tanf military base in Syria had been attacked, while US forces said they had withdrawn from the facility earlier this year.
Kuwait power and desalination plant damaged
Kuwaiti authorities said an Iranian attack damaged a power generation and water desalination station, causing a fire and disrupting a large number of electricity-generating units.
The attack underscored the vulnerability of Gulf infrastructure to the widening conflict. Kuwait, like other Gulf states, relies heavily on desalination to supply drinking water, and authorities urged residents to conserve electricity while damage was assessed.
Kuwait’s military said Iranian drone attacks on army facilities and camps had wounded several personnel. Shrapnel also caused material damage at several locations, it said.
Qatar twice warned residents to take shelter as Iranian missiles targeted the country, with air defenses intercepting the barrage. Falling debris wounded a child, according to Qatar’s Interior Ministry.
US strikes bridges, port infrastructure in Iran
The US strikes, meanwhile, expanded to southern Iran, where Iranian state media said at least five bridges were hit, including in the coastal city of Bandar Khamir.
Iranian officials said seven people were killed in attacks on bridges in the city, including people crossing one of the structures. The train station was also reported damaged, while an airport in Iranshahr, in a province bordering Pakistan, was reportedly hit.
Iranian authorities also reported attacks on power infrastructure as the country’s Energy Ministry urged residents in southern provinces suffering extreme heat to reduce electricity consumption and avoid using air conditioners during peak hours.
A tower at Iran’s Chabahar port on the Gulf of Oman also collapsed in a US strike, according to Iranian state media and US officials. CENTCOM said the structure formed part of a maritime surveillance network used by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards to track and target commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian officials said recent US strikes had killed dozens of people and wounded hundreds. Iran’s Health Ministry said at least 38 people had been killed and more than 400 wounded since fighting resumed, while other Iranian officials cited higher figures for the latest strikes.
The United States said 13 additional service members — 10 Army soldiers and three Navy sailors — had been injured since Monday. Since the war began, 14 US service members have been killed and 427 wounded, according to US officials.
Hormuz remains at center of conflict
The escalating strikes have increasingly focused on the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas trade passed in peacetime.
Iran has sought to control the waterway and warned ships against using routes it does not control. The United States has responded by reimposing a naval blockade of Iranian ports and attempting to protect shipping routes through the strait.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Saturday that two oil tankers had exploded after hitting mines while attempting to pass through a mined route south of the strait. The US military rejected the claim.
“Like most IRGC claims, this is false,” CENTCOM said in a social media post.
The Guards separately said four ships attempting to transit the waterway had been stopped in a combined missile and drone operation.
A tanker traveling through the route closest to Oman was also struck by a projectile, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency. The vessel sustained minor damage and no crew members were injured.
The conflict has pushed oil prices higher, with Brent crude rising above $86 a barrel on Friday as shipping through the strait fell to its lowest level in three weeks.
Fears of further escalation
The latest attacks have raised growing concern that the conflict is expanding beyond military targets to vital civilian and commercial infrastructure.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep concern over the escalation, particularly attacks on civilian infrastructure in Iran and across the region.
Iranian military adviser Mohsen Rezaei warned that Tehran would move to “full-scale offensive operations” if US strikes continued for another two or three days.
“Iran will no longer limit itself to retaliatory, like-for-like responses ... and no political border will be safe,” Rezaei said, according to Iranian state media.
Iranian Revolutionary Guards aerospace commander Majid Mousavi also said attacks would continue until the United States ended operations against Iranian coastal facilities and areas around the strait.
The war began on Feb. 28 with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, which responded with attacks on Israel and US interests across the Gulf and by effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz.
Mediators have sought to revive negotiations. China and Pakistan have called on Washington and Tehran to stop fighting and return to talks, but the latest escalation has so far offered little indication that either side is ready to compromise.
David Khalfa, a Middle East specialist at the Jean-Jaures Foundation, said a widening range of strategic infrastructure was being drawn into the conflict.
“The paradox is that, while the conflict continues to escalate, neither side has a strategic interest in allowing this dynamic to continue. Yet both perceive any compromise as a form of capitulation,” he said.
• With AFP, Reuters & AP