dailynewsnblog
Opening summary
Welcome to our live coverage of the latest in the continuing Middle East crisis.
US strikes on Iran overnight hit an airport, a railway station and two bridges, according to Iranian state media on Friday, while American forces boarded a ship as they enforced a renewed blockade of Iranian ports.
Three blasts were heard around Iranshahr airport in the south-east and at least one US projectile hit. Bandar Abbas station in the southern port city was also targeted and an Iranian official report spoke of airstrikes on two bridges in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province that left seven people dead, according to state and semi-official media.
The attacks came as the US and Iran exchanged intensifying fire on Thursday in a week-long escalation that has largely unravelled last month’s truce, while Tehran disputed Donald Trump’s claim that it had released a detained US citizen.
Meanwhile, American forces boarded a ship, the M/T Wen Yao, in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday to ensure “full compliance” with the renewed blockade of Iran’s ports that began earlier this week, the US military’s Central Command (Centcom) said on X. A day before, US aircraft fired on and disabled an unladen oil tanker that tried to breach the blockade, it said.
In other developments:
Authorities in Qatar warned the public to take shelter as a barrage of Iranian missiles targeted the country on Friday, with explosions heard as air defences fired to intercept them. Iran earlier targeted Bahrain and Kuwait over the US airstrikes hitting Iranian bridges overnight.
Centcom said it hit dozens of Iranian targets in the latest strikes, which concluded at dawn on Friday – the sixth night in a row of American attacks.
Iran accused the US of launching a “barbaric attack” near a children’s cancer hospital in Ahvaz in the country’s south-west on Wednesday night, causing a forced evacuation of the facility.
The Gaza recovery plan being pursued by Trump’s Board of Peace has shrunk dramatically from an ambitious blueprint for the reconstruction of the whole territory to a small pilot project in the south of the strip. Even the envisaged pilot scheme is not expected to take shape before the end of the year.
Yemen’s Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said all Saudi oil and other vital facilities would be targets for the group’s missiles and drones if Riyadh involved itself in what he described as “comprehensive aggression” against Yemen and moved towards escalation.
A drone struck a ship located off the port in Iraq’s southern province of Basra, reports said on Thursday, with AFP and Reuters citing oil and security sources as saying the ship was “carrying American-branded cars” and had arrived from the United Arab Emirates.
Oil prices are near their highest in a month amid the tensions over the strait of Hormuz and Brent crude briefly climbed above $86 a barrel on Thursday US time before falling back to $84.08, down 1% from the previous day.
Key events
In a statement published by state media, Majid Mousavi, aerospace chief for the IRGC, said Iran’s strikes “will continue until peace is restored to the southern coastline and the strait of Hormuz”.
UKMTO investigating incident involving tanker and military forces near Oman coast
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said it has received a report of an incident off the coast of Oman involving a tanker and military forces in the area.
“Reports indicate that the tanker was subject to interaction as part of ongoing military activity in the region,” UKMTO said of the incident, adding that it happened 100 nautical miles (about 115 miles) east of the Omani port of Duqm.
“Authorities are aware and relevant investigations remain ongoing.”
It provided no further details.
Lauren Almeida
Rising oil prices are adding to the market volatility today – Brent crude, the international benchmark, is up 1.8% to $85.72 a barrel, as the US and Iran step up their attacks across the Gulf.
There have also been reports that Iran has asked its Houthi allies in Yemen to stand ready to close a key Red Sea oil route if the US strikes its power network, which would put further pressure on the global oil supply.
For the latest economic and financial news, follow our business live blog here:
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps has said it targeted US radar systems and military aircraft in Qatar to “punish the aggressor”, with Doha saying it had intercepted a missile attack.
Abu Baker, a Sudanese resident of Qatar, told AFP had been about to go to sleep when he heard the air alerts, hoping the interception would be out at sea.
“Then it hit and it shook my house,” he added. “I am worried that this war will drag on… but thank God we’re in a country that protects us.”
The IRGC also said they had attacked two US radar sites in Oman as well as the Al-Tanf military base in Syria, which a Syrian military source denied to AFP. US forces said they withdrew from the base earlier this year.
Summary of developments so far
The US military has struck a number of civilian infrastructure sites across southern Iran, including railway brides and a port facility, according to Iranian state media.
The latest US attacks targeted six bridges, a railway station and port control tower, Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported.
Iranshahr airport in the south-eastern Sistan and Balochistan province was also reportedly hit.
Eight people were killed and 20 others wounded in the US attacks across Iran last night, according to the country’s health ministry.
Iran retaliated by firing on Middle Eastern nations hosting US bases, including Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan and Qatar. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) threatened “more crushing” attacks if US forces continued to attack Iranian civilian infrastructure.
Kuwait’s energy ministry said one of its power and water desalination plants was attacked by Iran, resulting in a fire and damage to the facility.
The IRGC claimed to have “targeted American fighter jets and tankers stationed in Jordan”, resulting in “the destruction of several US refuelling aircraft and warplanes and serious damage to many more of them”.
The US did not immediately comment on the claim. The Jordanian military said earlier that it shot down three incoming missiles launched by Iran this morning.
Iran government urges public to reduce electricity use after US attacks
Iran’s ministry of energy has issued a statement urging people to reduce their electricity use to help maintain supply to the southern provinces, which are “facing extreme heat and attacks on power infrastructure”.
The ministry has suggested “each family turn off their air conditioners for only one hour during peak consumption hours”, adding:
If each of us makes this small contribution, we can help to better supply electricity to the people of the south of the country by reducing the load on the grid and easing the pressure on the national electricity network.”
IRGC warns regional neighbours hosting US bases of ‘more crushing response’ if attacks on infrastructure continue
The IRGC has threatened “more crushing” attacks against neighbouring countries hosting US bases, warning that they will pay a “devastating price” if American forces continue to attack Iran’s civilian infrastructure.
In a statement carried by state media, it said:
The American enemy and the hosts of its bases in the region should know that crossing red lines and attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure will have a very severe and devastating price to pay. Should the enemy continue on this path, even more crushing responses are on the way.”
Here is a map by Anadolu Agency of the reported US attacks on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes in the region:
Kuwait says power and water desalination plant targeted in Iranian attack
Kuwait’s energy ministry said one of its power and water desalination plants was attacked by Iran, resulting in a fire and damage to the facility.
In a statement shared online, the country’s ministry of electricity, water and renewable energy said emergency services were able to control and extinguish the fire, while technical teams worked to restore service and monitor the electricity grid.
The ministry also urged the public to conserve energy while teams worked to get the station running again.
Iran state media reports US attacks on bridges, railway station and port tower
Iran’s official IRNA news agency has published more details about the reported US strikes on infrastructure across several areas on the southern coast.
The report says attacks were carried out in Hormozgan, Bushehr, Sistan and Baluchestan, and Khuzestan provinces, which are all located along the Gulf, as well as in Lorestan province in the south-west.
Here is a summary of what the report says of the attacks:
Six bridges in Khamir county in Hormozgan province were hit, resulting in the deaths of seven people.
One person was killed in the port city of Bandar Abbas in Hormozgan province, where several areas were struck by missiles including a railway station
The maritime control tower of Shahid Kalantari port in Chabahar in Sistan and Baluchestan province was targeted for a third time and “completely destroyed”. No casualties were reported.
The reported attacks followed Donald Trump’s threat to target Iran’s civilian infrastructure, including bridges and power plants, actions that could be considered war crimes under international law.
Iran says it targeted and destroyed US fighter jets stationed in Jordan
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has issued a statement to state media claiming to have “targeted American fighter jets and tankers stationed in Jordan”.
The statement says the attack involved “several ballistic missiles and numerous drones” and resulted in “the destruction of several American tankers and fighter jets and serious damage to many more of them”.
The US did not immediately comment on the claim. The Jordanian military said earlier that it shot down three incoming missiles launched by Iran this morning.
Tanker hit by unknown projectile off Oman coast – UKMTO
A tanker was hit by an unknown projectile off the coast of Oman near the strait of Hormuz, causing minor damage to the ship but no injuries to the crew, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said.
In an alert issued this morning, the UKMTO said it received a report of an incident 19 nautical miles (about 22 miles) east of the Omani port city of Khasab.
It added:
A tanker has reported being hit by an unknown projectile causing minor structural damage to the port side. All crew are safe and accounted for, no environmental impact has been reported and the vessel is continuing to its next port of call. Authorities are investigating.”
38 people killed in Iran in US attacks since ceasefire, says Tehran health ministry
The Iranian health ministry said 38 people have been killed in Iran in recent US attacks, with more than 400 others injured.
Reporting the figures on X, Hossein Kermanpour, head of public relations for Iran’s ministry of health, said 22 women and nine children were among the injured.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported that last night’s US strikes on infrastructure killed eight people and wounded 20 others. IRNA’s report says six bridges were targeted in the southern province of Hormozgan, which borders the strait of Hormuz.
The interim ceasefire that was agreed last month fell apart on 8 July, with both sides engaged in back-and-forth attacks as they battle for control of the strait of Hormuz, which remains effectively shut to shipping traffic.
American forces boarded a ship in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday as part of the renewed blockade of Iran’s ports that began earlier this week, the US military said.
US Marines boarded the M/T Wen Yao “to ensure full compliance with the ongoing US naval blockade,” US Central Command (Centcom) said in a post on X.
Centcom also said it had “redirected” three commercial vessels “trying to run the blockade” since it took effect at 8pm GMT on Tuesday. The previous day, a US aircraft fired on and disabled an unladen oil tanker that tried to break the blockade.
The boarding of the vessel came as the US expanded its airstrike campaign against Iran with attacks on multiple bridges, in line with Donald Trump’s threats to destroy infrastructure, prompting Tehran to fire on Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait.
Read more:
Here are some pictures on the newswires purportedly showing the damage to a bridge in Iran after a US attack:
Opening summary
Welcome to our live coverage of the latest in the continuing Middle East crisis.
US strikes on Iran overnight hit an airport, a railway station and two bridges, according to Iranian state media on Friday, while American forces boarded a ship as they enforced a renewed blockade of Iranian ports.
Three blasts were heard around Iranshahr airport in the south-east and at least one US projectile hit. Bandar Abbas station in the southern port city was also targeted and an Iranian official report spoke of airstrikes on two bridges in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province that left seven people dead, according to state and semi-official media.
The attacks came as the US and Iran exchanged intensifying fire on Thursday in a week-long escalation that has largely unravelled last month’s truce, while Tehran disputed Donald Trump’s claim that it had released a detained US citizen.
Meanwhile, American forces boarded a ship, the M/T Wen Yao, in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday to ensure “full compliance” with the renewed blockade of Iran’s ports that began earlier this week, the US military’s Central Command (Centcom) said on X. A day before, US aircraft fired on and disabled an unladen oil tanker that tried to breach the blockade, it said.
In other developments:
Authorities in Qatar warned the public to take shelter as a barrage of Iranian missiles targeted the country on Friday, with explosions heard as air defences fired to intercept them. Iran earlier targeted Bahrain and Kuwait over the US airstrikes hitting Iranian bridges overnight.
Centcom said it hit dozens of Iranian targets in the latest strikes, which concluded at dawn on Friday – the sixth night in a row of American attacks.
Iran accused the US of launching a “barbaric attack” near a children’s cancer hospital in Ahvaz in the country’s south-west on Wednesday night, causing a forced evacuation of the facility.
The Gaza recovery plan being pursued by Trump’s Board of Peace has shrunk dramatically from an ambitious blueprint for the reconstruction of the whole territory to a small pilot project in the south of the strip. Even the envisaged pilot scheme is not expected to take shape before the end of the year.
Yemen’s Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said all Saudi oil and other vital facilities would be targets for the group’s missiles and drones if Riyadh involved itself in what he described as “comprehensive aggression” against Yemen and moved towards escalation.
A drone struck a ship located off the port in Iraq’s southern province of Basra, reports said on Thursday, with AFP and Reuters citing oil and security sources as saying the ship was “carrying American-branded cars” and had arrived from the United Arab Emirates.
Oil prices are near their highest in a month amid the tensions over the strait of Hormuz and Brent crude briefly climbed above $86 a barrel on Thursday US time before falling back to $84.08, down 1% from the previous day.
