US bombed Iran’s bridges, transport network. Tehran responded to fresh Gulf attacks.
WASHINGTON/TEHRAN – The United States and Iran traded fresh military strikes, raising tensions across the Gulf and pushing the Strait of Hormuz into renewed turmoil, raising fears of a wider regional conflict and fresh disruptions to global oil supplies as both sides escalated attacks.
The escalating hostilities have further weakened last month’s fragile ceasefire, disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, and raised fears of a wider regional conflict. The latest escalation has dashed hopes that last month’s fragile ceasefire could hold, replaced by a sharper round of military retaliation.
At 9:40 p.m. ET, U.S. forces completed their latest major wave of strikes against Iran, marking the sixth consecutive night of operations aimed at reducing Tehran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the region, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced.
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The US said its latest operation targeted key Iranian military assets around Qeshm Island and Bandar Abbas, a strategic coastal city that hosts major naval and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) installations as well as Iran’s largest commercial port.
CENTCOM said U.S. fighter jets, drones and warships conducted precision strikes against dozens of military targets, including coastal surveillance systems, air defense batteries, logistics hubs and maritime capabilities. Washington said the attacks were aimed at further reducing Iran’s military capabilities and limiting its ability to threaten regional shipping.
The US strikes caused extensive damage to civilian infrastructure, including five bridges, the Bandar Khmer railway station and Iranshahr Airport in southeastern Iran. State news agency IRNA said seven people were killed when a bridge collapsed in the southern port city of Bandar Khmer.
Tehran announced that its forces had fired missiles and drones at US military installations in the Gulf, including facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait. Iranian strikes have also hit a US air base in Jordan. In Qatar, residents of Doha reported hearing multiple explosions overnight, while authorities confirmed a child was injured by shrapnel.
As military operations intensified, commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz was once again severely affected, raising fears of prolonged instability and rising global oil and gas prices.
Tehran resumed restrictions on maritime traffic through the strategic waterway, while the US tightened its blockade of Iranian ports. Tehran has also warned that it could encourage Yemen’s Houthi movement to target the Bab al-Mandab strait, another key global shipping route connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, if Washington steps up its attacks on Iranian infrastructure.
Iranian forces reportedly targeted ships traveling through a designated shipping corridor in the Strait of Hormuz last week, raising concerns about the security of international trade routes.
White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt accused Iran of endangering freedom of navigation and warned that President Donald Trump would not allow attacks on commercial shipping to continue without consequences.
The conflict is increasingly focused on control of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran insists that all commercial ships must travel through channels near its coastline and plans to introduce transit fees after the end of a 60-day negotiation period outlined in a memorandum of understanding reached last month.
Washington has instead advised commercial shipping to use alternative routes near Oman’s coast. U.S. officials said the recent strikes specifically targeted Iran’s coastal military infrastructure to undermine its ability to dominate the narrow waterway.
Despite the escalating military campaign, Washington says diplomatic avenues are open. Levitt said talks with Tehran continued even as the two countries exchanged strikes, insisting the administration was ready to negotiate a decisive response to attacks on US interests and international shipping.
The US pounded Iran for a fourth day as the Middle East crisis widened with attacks on Jordan and Kuwait
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