The US and Iran continued to exchange fresh strikes, as Tehran hit back at US allies in the neighbouring Gulf post Washington’s attacks, amid the two foes’ ongoing battle over the vital Strait of Hormuz in the renewed West Asia war.
The rekindled fighting comes a month after a preliminary agreement aimed at ending the war, which began in late February with large-scale US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Israel has so far remained outside the latest escalation and has not been directly targeted by Tehran.
Speaking during a televised address on election security on Thursday, US President Donald Trump said that Washington was “winning big in Iran” and that Americans would “see the fruits of that labour very, very shortly.”
Washington further expanded its air campaign on Tehran and targeted bridges, following through with Trump’s threats to strike Iran’s civilian infrastructure unless Tehran refuses to ease its position on the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran responded in kind with a new wave of missile attacks targeting US installations in neighbouring Gulf states and warned that further attacks will follow.
In Qatar, authorities urged residents to seek shelter after Iranian missiles targeted the country.
Explosions were heard overhead as air defence systems attempted to intercept the incoming projectiles. Earlier, Iran also launched attacks against Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan.
Releasing a statement, CENTCOM said its latest strikes targeted dozens of Iranian military sites, including coastal surveillance systems, air defence positions, logistics infrastructure and maritime assets.
Iranian state television IRNA reported that overnight US strikes hit bridges in Hormozgan province, killing at least seven people. The attacks reportedly struck Bandar Khamir, a coastal city overlooking the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran warned that infrastructure of the US-aligned states across the region could become legible targets should Trump make good on his threats to strike Iranian power plants and bridges, although the White House maintained that the president remained open to diplomacy.
Iran’s powerful IRGC paramilitary said they had targeted a US airbase in Jordan with ballistic missiles in response to what they described as an American strike near a children’s cancer hospital in Iran.
Iranian state media reported that the hospital in Ahvaz had been evacuated after nearby US strikes, which Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei described as “barbaric”.
CENTCOM said its operations were aimed at degrading Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
IRNA news agency reported that a projectile struck parts of Semnan Airport in northern Iran without causing casualties. Explosions were also reported in several other locations, while air defence systems were activated in parts of Tehran.
Shortly afterwards, Gulf states reported additional Iranian attacks. Kuwait said it intercepted drones, while Bahrain activated air raid sirens.
Iranian media later reported further US strikes around Qeshm Island near the Strait of Hormuz and in the port city of Bandar Abbas.
State television reported two explosions in Bushehr, home to Iran’s only civilian nuclear power plant, describing them as part of the “continuation of the American enemy aggression.” Additional explosions were reported in Bandar Abbas.
Iranian state media also reported “American enemy attacks on areas around Ahvaz,” where residents said they heard heavy strikes for a second consecutive night.
A senior Iranian military spokesman later reiterated that Tehran would not compromise on the Strait of Hormuz and called for a US military withdrawal from the region.
According to Israel’s Channel 12, Israeli officials believe that Washington may expand its campaign to include more civilian infrastructure targets inside Iran, moving beyond its previous focus on military assets.
Speaking to Fox News, Trump said, “We’re going to hit them very hard tonight. We’re going to hit them very hard tomorrow night. We’re going to hit them very hard the night after, and then next week it gets really bad for them because next week comes the power plants. Next week comes the bridges.
“We’re going to knock out all their power plants. We’re going to knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate,” adding “I’ll save the energy targets for last, but ultimately we’ll hit energy targets.”
Channel 12 also reported, citing two Arab diplomats, that Doha has submitted a new proposal to Washington and Tehran aimed at restarting negotiations and lowering tensions. According to the report, Iranian officials view the proposal relatively favourably, and attacks on Qatar have reportedly stopped since it was presented.
The Strait of Hormuz remains at the centre of the dispute and is critical to global energy supplies.
Although briefly reopened following the June agreement between Washington and Tehran, Iran announced last week that the waterway would remain closed “until the US ends its aggression”.
The US has since reimposed a blockade on Iranian ports.
Pakistan, which helped mediate last month’s memorandum of understanding, has continued to call for diplomacy, with its Foreign Office spokesman Tahir Andrabi saying that Islamabad “continue to encourage all sides to end violence and resume technical-level talks” under the memorandum of understanding it helped mediate last month.
But Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has warned that a deal “only has meaning when its clauses are valid and being implemented”.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump remained willing to negotiate while insisting Iran would face consequences for its actions.
“They have expressed that they still want to make a deal to the president. We’re talking to them, but again, the president is not going to allow them to fire on ships in the Strait without paying a consequence for that,” she said.
Trump has repeatedly warned that unless Tehran returns to negotiations, attacks on Iranian infrastructure will intensify.
“Next week it gets really bad for them,” he told Fox News.
Iran’s military responded with a warning of its own, saying that if Washington follows through on those threats, “all infrastructure in the region” would be “crushed.”
