US-Iran strikes intensify as Strait of Hormuz crisis drives oil prices higher
The United States and Iran exchanged fresh strikes on infrastructure and military targets around the Strait of Hormuz. The collapsed ceasefire has deepened regional risks, disrupted shipping and raised pressure on oil supplies.
The United States and Iran exchanged fresh strikes on Saturday, targeting infrastructure and military sites as their conflict over the Strait of Hormuz intensified. The interim ceasefire has collapsed, leaving no clear end in sight to the war that the US and Israel began more than four months ago.
The latest round of attacks came as the region saw more back-and-forth strikes and air defence activity across several countries. The US military said it had carried out its seventh straight night of strikes, while Iran continued to tighten its grip on the strait, a move that has pushed up oil prices and disrupted shipping.
The US Central Command said its strikes hit "surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities". Kuwait said it intercepted Iranian missiles and drones, Iraq said it shot down attack drones over Erbil, and Jordan's state-run Petra news agency said the kingdom's air defence systems had downed Iranian missiles. Bahrain also reported that air sirens sounded multiple times.
In Iran, state television said US airstrikes hit an electricity and desalination plant in Bonji, a coastal village in southern Hormozgan province on the Strait of Hormuz. A day earlier, Iranian state media said the US had struck highways and railway bridges, apparently to cut off Bandar Abbas, Iran's main port, from roads leading into central Iran and onwards to Tehran. Iran on Friday acknowledged "attacks on power infrastructure" for the first time during the US airstrike campaign, as its Energy Ministry asked people in southern provinces "experiencing extreme heat" to reduce power use, though it did not say what had been hit.
Iranian authorities said at least 46 people had been killed and more than 400 wounded in recent US strikes, including eight people killed in a bridge strike on Friday. Iranian officials have also said recent US attacks have killed dozens and wounded hundreds more. The US military acknowledged that 13 more service members, including 10 Army soldiers and three Navy sailors, had been injured since Monday, without giving further details. Since the war began, 14 US service members have been killed and 427 wounded.
Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz to shipping traffic after the war began on February 28, adding to pressure on global energy supplies. Oil prices rose above USD 86 a barrel on Friday, close to their highest level in a month, while shipping tracker MarineTraffic.com said crossings through the strait fell to a three-week low of just eight vessels on Thursday. Iran has said the strait must be under its sole control and that vessels should pay fees to Tehran, even though it has long been regarded globally as an international waterway.
US President Donald Trump, in an address to the American public on Thursday evening, said the war was going well. "We are likewise winning big in Iran, and you will see the fruits of that labour very, very shortly," he said. Before the war, the US had been in talks with Iran over its nuclear programme. Trump is now facing political pressure to end the war and avoid the kind of prolonged Middle East conflict he had campaigned against.
Trump has in recent days renewed threats to target Iranian power stations and bridges in a bid to force Tehran to loosen its hold on the strait. The US has also reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports to stop its crude oil shipments. While more energy from the region is now moving through pipelines, it is not enough to make up for the fall in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, where the battle remains at the centre of the wider conflict.
With PTI Inputs
The United States and Iran exchanged fresh strikes on Saturday, targeting infrastructure and military sites as their conflict over the Strait of Hormuz intensified. The interim ceasefire has collapsed, leaving no clear end in sight to the war that the US and Israel began more than four months ago.
The latest round of attacks came as the region saw more back-and-forth strikes and air defence activity across several countries. The US military said it had carried out its seventh straight night of strikes, while Iran continued to tighten its grip on the strait, a move that has pushed up oil prices and disrupted shipping.
The US Central Command said its strikes hit "surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities". Kuwait said it intercepted Iranian missiles and drones, Iraq said it shot down attack drones over Erbil, and Jordan's state-run Petra news agency said the kingdom's air defence systems had downed Iranian missiles. Bahrain also reported that air sirens sounded multiple times.
In Iran, state television said US airstrikes hit an electricity and desalination plant in Bonji, a coastal village in southern Hormozgan province on the Strait of Hormuz. A day earlier, Iranian state media said the US had struck highways and railway bridges, apparently to cut off Bandar Abbas, Iran's main port, from roads leading into central Iran and onwards to Tehran. Iran on Friday acknowledged "attacks on power infrastructure" for the first time during the US airstrike campaign, as its Energy Ministry asked people in southern provinces "experiencing extreme heat" to reduce power use, though it did not say what had been hit.
Iranian authorities said at least 46 people had been killed and more than 400 wounded in recent US strikes, including eight people killed in a bridge strike on Friday. Iranian officials have also said recent US attacks have killed dozens and wounded hundreds more. The US military acknowledged that 13 more service members, including 10 Army soldiers and three Navy sailors, had been injured since Monday, without giving further details. Since the war began, 14 US service members have been killed and 427 wounded.
Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz to shipping traffic after the war began on February 28, adding to pressure on global energy supplies. Oil prices rose above USD 86 a barrel on Friday, close to their highest level in a month, while shipping tracker MarineTraffic.com said crossings through the strait fell to a three-week low of just eight vessels on Thursday. Iran has said the strait must be under its sole control and that vessels should pay fees to Tehran, even though it has long been regarded globally as an international waterway.
US President Donald Trump, in an address to the American public on Thursday evening, said the war was going well. "We are likewise winning big in Iran, and you will see the fruits of that labour very, very shortly," he said. Before the war, the US had been in talks with Iran over its nuclear programme. Trump is now facing political pressure to end the war and avoid the kind of prolonged Middle East conflict he had campaigned against.
Trump has in recent days renewed threats to target Iranian power stations and bridges in a bid to force Tehran to loosen its hold on the strait. The US has also reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports to stop its crude oil shipments. While more energy from the region is now moving through pipelines, it is not enough to make up for the fall in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, where the battle remains at the centre of the wider conflict.
With PTI Inputs
The United States and Iran exchanged fresh strikes on Saturday, targeting infrastructure and military sites as their conflict over the Strait of Hormuz intensified. The interim ceasefire has collapsed, leaving no clear end in sight to the war that the US and Israel began more than four months ago.
The latest round of attacks came as the region saw more back-and-forth strikes and air defence activity across several countries. The US military said it had carried out its seventh straight night of strikes, while Iran continued to tighten its grip on the strait, a move that has pushed up oil prices and disrupted shipping.
The US Central Command said its strikes hit "surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities". Kuwait said it intercepted Iranian missiles and drones, Iraq said it shot down attack drones over Erbil, and Jordan's state-run Petra news agency said the kingdom's air defence systems had downed Iranian missiles. Bahrain also reported that air sirens sounded multiple times.
In Iran, state television said US airstrikes hit an electricity and desalination plant in Bonji, a coastal village in southern Hormozgan province on the Strait of Hormuz. A day earlier, Iranian state media said the US had struck highways and railway bridges, apparently to cut off Bandar Abbas, Iran's main port, from roads leading into central Iran and onwards to Tehran. Iran on Friday acknowledged "attacks on power infrastructure" for the first time during the US airstrike campaign, as its Energy Ministry asked people in southern provinces "experiencing extreme heat" to reduce power use, though it did not say what had been hit.
Iranian authorities said at least 46 people had been killed and more than 400 wounded in recent US strikes, including eight people killed in a bridge strike on Friday. Iranian officials have also said recent US attacks have killed dozens and wounded hundreds more. The US military acknowledged that 13 more service members, including 10 Army soldiers and three Navy sailors, had been injured since Monday, without giving further details. Since the war began, 14 US service members have been killed and 427 wounded.
Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz to shipping traffic after the war began on February 28, adding to pressure on global energy supplies. Oil prices rose above USD 86 a barrel on Friday, close to their highest level in a month, while shipping tracker MarineTraffic.com said crossings through the strait fell to a three-week low of just eight vessels on Thursday. Iran has said the strait must be under its sole control and that vessels should pay fees to Tehran, even though it has long been regarded globally as an international waterway.
US President Donald Trump, in an address to the American public on Thursday evening, said the war was going well. "We are likewise winning big in Iran, and you will see the fruits of that labour very, very shortly," he said. Before the war, the US had been in talks with Iran over its nuclear programme. Trump is now facing political pressure to end the war and avoid the kind of prolonged Middle East conflict he had campaigned against.
Trump has in recent days renewed threats to target Iranian power stations and bridges in a bid to force Tehran to loosen its hold on the strait. The US has also reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports to stop its crude oil shipments. While more energy from the region is now moving through pipelines, it is not enough to make up for the fall in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, where the battle remains at the centre of the wider conflict.
With PTI Inputs
