A power plant in Kuwait and five bridges in Iran have been struck in the latest exchange of fire across the Arabian Gulf as the scope of the fighting expands into infrastructure.
The US renewed its bombing campaign on Iran by hitting dozens of targets including what it said was “military logistics infrastructure”. Tehran responded with strikes on US bases across the Gulf and Middle East on Friday.
US Central Command said the attacks were intended to “further degrade Iranian military capabilities”. It also said American forces boarded a vessel as part of its blockade of Iranian ports near the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian state media said at least five bridges had been struck in the south. Seven people were reported killed in attacks on bridges in the southern port of Bandar Khamir, where the train station was also hit. An airport was reported hit further east in Iranshahr, in a province bordering Pakistan.
Iran said it had retaliated by firing missiles at targets in Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Syria. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the targets included a military base in Kuwait and radar sites in Oman.
It also claimed it had attacked the former US base at Al Tanf in Syria, targeting radar systems and helicopters. The US denied that.
Kuwait’s government said on Friday that a desalination and electricity plant was hit, with many power generation units sustaining damage.
Although such facilities in Kuwait were hit at the height of the US-Iran war between March and early April, this is Iran's first targeting of power infrastructure during the most recent escalation.
Kuwait’s Electricity Water and Renewable Energy Ministry said in a statement the attack sparked a fire and “damage to a large number of electricity generation units”. Authorities said they had extinguished the blaze and were working to assess the damage and get the station working again.
The attacks by the US and Iran have all but discarded the preliminary deal signed by the two countries in June to end the war that started in late February.
Kuwait has been one of the countries in the region hardest hit by recent Iranian strikes.
One projectile in June slammed into the passenger terminal at the oil-rich state’s civilian airport, killing one person and injuring more than 60.
On Wednesday, four Kuwaiti navy personnel were injured as Iran fired five cruise and one ballistic missile as well as 33 drones.
Meanwhile in Iraq, nine members of an Iranian Kurdish opposition militia were killed by a missile on Friday. The group, Komala, which is based in Sulaymaniyah province, said the attack was conducted by Iran.
A senior commander told Kurdish media that their “main headquarters in Zirgwez was struck by six missiles”.
During the past few days, US President Donald Trump has threatened to intensify military operations until Iran relents over the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Energy sites, Mr Trump said, would be left until last.
Iran announced the closure of the strait, and Washington has reimposed its own blockade of Iranian ports.
In the latest action at sea, the US military said it had boarded a tanker to enforce the blockade, releasing photos of marines rappelling from a helicopter on to the deck, where one posed in front of an Iranian flag.
Beyond the Gulf, armed men seized a small chemical tanker off Yemen in the Gulf of Aden, close to the mouth of the Red Sea.
A maritime security source told Reuters the incident appeared to be related to Somali piracy rather than Iran's Yemeni allies, the Houthis.
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar have called for a ceasefire and the resumption of dialogue between the US and Iran, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said, citing talks between the ministers in Shanghai on Thursday.
Mr Wang urged all parties to fulfil their commitments and abide by the ceasefire memorandum of understanding, the Foreign Ministry said.
