US-Iran Conflict Escalates

US forces hit a bridge and a train station with missiles in a sixth night of airstrikes on Iran, as Tehran accused Donald Trump of targeting civilian infrastructure. Seven people were killed after the US conducted a fresh wave of airstrikes, damaging power and transport infrastructure in Bandar Khamir, a coastal city on the Strait of Hormuz. American marines, meanwhile, boarded a vessel in the Gulf of Oman “to ensure full compliance” with the US naval blockade of Iran, Centcom said.

They also redirected three ships trying to run the blockade. In an address to the nation, president Donald Trump said the US was “winning big in Iran” and would “see the fruits of that labour very, very shortly”. Iran retaliated with missile and drone attacks on US allies in the region, including Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait.

The Iranian military chief warned of widespread attacks on “all the infrastructure in the region” if Trump continued to strike bridges in the Middle East country. The US military said it has boarded a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz “to ensure full compliance with the ongoing U.S. naval blockade against Iran”. In a post on X, Centcom wrote forces had also “redirected” three commercial vessels trying to run the blockade, and “disabled” one that didn’t comply.

US airstrikes on bridges have killed at least 7 people, according to a new report. The strikes were launched overnight into Friday in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province, the Associated Press reported, citing Iranian state media. The Thursday attacks reportedly hit Bandar Khamir, a coastal city on the Strait of Hormuz, as well as around Tehran and in Semnan province.

The Semnan province holds Iran’s ballistic missile production and space program. The Independent has reached out to US Central Command for comment. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said today that it attacked a US special operations command centre in Syria.

The attack was in retaliation for the killing of Iranian soldiers in Iranshahr, IRGC said, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency. Iran said it also targeted US military deployment sites and logistical support centres in Kuwait with drones. “Relying on history, popular support, experience, and combat readiness, we stand with vigilance and authority against any pressure or threat,” Iran’s military said, according to Fars news agency.

The death toll from US attacks on bridges in Iran’s Bandar Khamir has risen to seven, Iran’s state media said. US targeted bridges in Iran yesterday as part of its strategy to hit infrastructure across the country. Seven people were killed following strikes targeting a bridge in Bandar Khamir, a port city in southern Iran, the Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences said today.

Oil prices have risen higher today as the US and Iran stepped up attacks, with Tehran’s attacks on Gulf countries limiting supply coming out of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has also asked the Houthis to remain on standby to shut the Red Sea export route. The price of Brent Crude rose by about 1.25 per cent today, reaching near $85.28 a barrel, while the US WTI Crude also climbed by about the same rate to around $79.98 a barrel.

“Oil security is still a critical issue…We should be worried, and I am worried, if the situation does not improve in the next few weeks,” International Energy Agency executive director Fatih Birol said.