DUBAI — The US military completed what it called its latest “major wave” of strikes against Iran early Friday as Iran launched new missile and drone attacks against US allies in the region.
“US forces, including fighter jets, aerial drones, and warships, launched precision munitions that hit dozens of Iranian military targets such as coastal surveillance and air defense sites, military logistics infrastructure, and maritime capabilities,” the US Central Command said in a post on X.
The latest strikes marked the sixth consecutive night of US attacks, with Washington increasingly targeting infrastructure after President Donald Trump threatened to strike Iranian bridges and power plants to pressure Tehran to ease its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz.
Qatar, a key negotiator throughout the conflict, appeared to come under fire for the second time on Friday morning local time with its defense ministry announcing it was intercepting a number of air attacks.
Authorities warned the public to take shelter as a barrage of Iranian missiles targeted the country.
A second government security alert was sent out to mobile phones and several loud booms were heard in Qatar’s capital Doha, reported Reuters.
Earlier on Friday, a child was wounded by falling shrapnel from an intercepted strike from Iran, Qatar’s interior ministry said.
Iran has not claimed responsibility for the attack so far.
Meanwhile in Bahrain, sirens were activated for the second time on Friday morning, the country’s interior ministry said.
Iran’s military claimed it targeted US military assets in Bahrain, according to state media IRNA. Video released by state media outlet IRIB on Friday purportedly showed drones being launched toward Bahrain.
Iranian officials said US strikes have killed more than 35 people and wounded more than 300 others, with new casualties reported in Friday’s attacks.
The US airstrikes hit bridges overnight into Friday in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province, killing at least seven people, the governor’s office said, according to Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency. The attacks struck Bandar Khamir, a city on Iran’s coast near the Strait of Hormuz.
Many of the bridges that were targeted were on routes connected to the city of Bandar Abbas, a coastal city on the Strait of Hormuz which is home to a Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval base.
Earlier, Fars reported a railway junction in Bandar Abbas had been hit. Iran’s energy ministry said power lines in Bandar Abbas and surrounding villages were damaged, according to Tasnim News Agency.
A photo released by state broadcaster IRIB and geolocated by CNN showed a damaged Kahurestan Bridge, linking Bandar Abbas to the city of Shiraz, after it was reportedly hit by a US strike.
Iranian state media said US strikes on Thursday hit areas around Tehran and Semnan province, home to Iran’s ballistic missile production and space program.
Speaking in a primetime address to the American public, Trump insisted that the war was going well.
“We are likewise winning big in Iran, and you will see the fruits of that labor very, very shortly,” Trump said.
US Central Command said its latest airstrikes, which concluded at dawn Friday, hit dozens of targets.
Col. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesperson for the Iranian military’s Khatam Al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, earlier threatened that Iran could launch widespread attacks on “all the infrastructure in the region” if the United States acted on Trump’s repeated warnings that America could hit Iranian bridges and power plants.
“Under no circumstances and in no way will we allow America, as a foreign and extraregional country, to interfere in the Strait of Hormuz,” he said. “This is Iran’s invincible red line.”
US forces boarded a ship in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday as part of the renewed blockade on Iranian ports, which began earlier this week.
US Marines boarded the M/T Wen Yao “to ensure full compliance with the ongoing US naval blockade,” Central Command said in a post on X.
The previous day, a US aircraft fired on and disabled an unladen oil tanker that attempted to break the blockade.
Central Command also said it had redirected three commercial vessels attempting to run the blockade since it took effect at 2000 GMT on Tuesday.
US forces previously blockaded Iranian ports from April 13 to June 18, during which they disabled nine ships and redirected more than 140, according to Central Command.
Week-to-week cargo shipments through the strait dropped by almost a quarter at the beginning of the month, according to maritime data firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence — before the latest surge in tit-for-tat attacks.
Given the risks, some oil shippers are transiting the strait with their location devices turned off, while many others are staying put, Lloyd’s said Thursday.
Source: Saudi Gazette