The United States increased its airstrikes campaign against Iran early Friday by hitting several bridges, energy facilities and collapsing a tower in a key Iranian port, part of US President Donald Trump’s threats to launch infrastructure strikes to pressure Tehran to loosen its grip on the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has launched new missile attacks against US-allied nations in the Middle East, including Qatar, a key mediator in the conflict. It also damaged Kuwait’s desalination plant – an important resource for the small desert nation.
A temporary ceasefire agreed last month has collapsed, and the region has endured days of back-and-forth attacks by the US and Iran as they battle for control of the road. Iranian officials say US strikes have killed scores of people and injured hundreds of others, and more people were reported injured in Friday’s strikes.
When the US and Israel declared war on Iran on Feb. 28, Tehran effectively blocked the shipping lane, a move that sent oil prices soaring and gave Iran greater leverage in negotiations.
Speaking in his first speech to the American public, Trump emphasized that the war is going well.
“We’re also winning a lot in Iran, and you’re going to see the fruits of that work very soon,” Trump said.
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US airstrikes hit bridges on Friday night in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province, killing at least seven people, Iranian state television reported. The attack targeted Bandar Khamir, a city on the Iranian coast in the Strait of Hormuz.
The highway and rail bridge strikes appeared to be aimed at cutting off Bandar Abbas, Iran’s main port, from the Islamic Republic’s central region to Tehran, the capital.
While some routes are still open, US strikes may continue, potentially disrupting both the flow of military supplies and supplies needed by Iran’s 90 million people.
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Iran also admitted to “attacks on electrical infrastructure” during the US airstrike campaign for the first time on Friday when the Ministry of Energy issued a call for people to use less energy in the southern provinces.
It said those areas are “currently experiencing extreme heat and attacks on electrical infrastructure.” The department did not elaborate on whether it was power plants, transmission lines or other objects that were attacked.
Strikes like this in the electricity infrastructure have been suspected for days. Tehran city councilor Mehdi Chamran told reporters when asked about the electricity crisis on Tuesday, “Just look at how many power plants have been hit … and you wouldn’t ask that question.”
The main port tower collapses in a US strike
The U.S. military’s Central Command said it hit dozens of targets in its latest airstrikes, which ended early Friday morning, the sixth consecutive night of U.S. airstrikes.
The strikes also destroyed a tower in Iran’s Chabahar port in the Gulf of Oman, which is an important trade route to landlocked, neighboring Afghanistan, IRNA news agency reported.
The port of Chabahar, which Iran has been running with the support of India, has been the target of US airstrikes. Iranian state media acknowledged the third round of strikes on the facility without immediately acknowledging the tower’s collapse.
Iran described the tower as overseeing commercial traffic in the port. However, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard also operates ports across the country.
As of 6 a.m. Friday, US strikes have killed at least 38 people and injured more than 400 in Iran, said Health Ministry spokesman Hossein Kermanpour.
Iran retaliates by targeting Qatar, the mediator of the war
On Friday, Qatar twice warned the public to be safe as Iranian missiles hit the country. People heard explosions overhead as air defenses fired to intercept the missiles. Qatar’s Ministry of Interior said falling debris injured the child.
Qatar, along with Pakistan, is an important mediator in trying to reach an end to the Iran war. But talks have stalled over Iran’s hold on the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran also targeted Bahrain and Kuwait earlier on Friday. In Kuwait, authorities said Iran attacked a desalination plant, causing extensive damage to the plant. About 90 percent of drinking water comes from desalination – and any disruption can be life-threatening.
Kuwait said it has extinguished the fire and is busy assessing the damage so that the station can resume operation.
The Jordanian military said it intercepted three missiles that arrived Friday morning that were launched by Iran.
Explosions were also heard on Friday morning in Irbil and Sulaymaniyah in northern Iraq’s Kurdish region as anti-aircraft defenses directed incoming fire. The attack targeted the Iranian Kurdish opposition group Komala, killing at least nine people and wounding others, said an official who did not want to be named for security reasons.
Iran was not quick to say it was attacked, but it has pointed to Komala in the past.
Also on Friday, a tanker was attacked as it sailed through the Strait of Hormuz en route to Oman, the British military said.
A report from the United Kingdom’s Maritime Trade Operations Center said the ship suffered minor damage, with no crew members injured.
Iran has been attacking tankers on a route near Oman but did not immediately acknowledge the attack.
The strikes come as Iran and the US dispute the Strait of Hormuz
Trump has backtracked in recent days on his threats to target Iran’s power stations and bridges to try to force Iran to loosen the pipeline, through which about a fifth of all oil and natural gas traded has passed during peacetime. The US has also reinstated the blockade of shipping vessels in Iranian ports to stop its crude oil exports.
Week-on-week shipping in the crisis fell by almost a quarter at the start of the month, according to maritime information firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence. And that was before the recent surge in violence.
Given the risk, some oil tankers pass through the road with their rigs in the closed area, but many stay put, Lloyd said Thursday. An increasing amount of the region’s energy is being shipped by pipeline, but it is not enough to offset the decline in shipping through the strain.
