Iran’s health ministry said Friday that at least 38 people had been killed and more than 400 injured in the country since fighting resumed with the United States, as latest strikes on Iran targeted bridges and transport infrastructure, as Tehran responded with attacks on US bases in the Gulf.
“The number of injured from US attacks has exceeded 400, and 38 compatriots have been martyred” since June 22, ministry spokesman Hossein Kermanpour posted on X. “Among them are 22 injured women, three martyred women, nine injured under the age of 18, and one martyr under 18.”
Iranian state media reported Friday that overnight US strikes on infrastructure in southern and western Iran killed eight people and wounded 20 others.
“Some infrastructure in several provinces of the country came under US military attack,” the IRNA news agency said, reporting that six bridges in the southern province of Hormozgan were targeted.
Iran Guards strike US radar sites in Oman
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Friday they had struck two radar sites belonging to the United States in the Gulf sultanate of Oman.
A statement said their forces “targeted and destroyed the maritime surveillance radar at the Salamah Rocks and the US air surveillance radar stationed in the Ghanam area”.
Tanker hit by ‘projectile’ off Oman
A tanker was struck by a projectile off the coast of Oman, the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency said on Friday, as Iran and the United States exchanged fire over control of the Strait of Hormuz.
“A tanker has reported being hit by an unknown projectile causing minor structural damage to the port side,” the British organisation said in a statement, reporting that it took place overnight and that all crew were safe and accounted for.
Tit-for-tat attacks
The United States launched fresh strikes on Iran with bridges and transport infrastructure among the apparent targets, as Tehran responded with attacks on US bases in the Gulf on Friday.
The rekindled fighting over the vital Strait of Hormuz came a month after the signing of a preliminary deal that aimed to end the conflict, which broke out in late February with massive US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
Iran said Friday it had targeted US military infrastructure in Kuwait in response to American attacks on the Islamic republic.
Tehran has launched a barrage of strikes against US allies in the Gulf after it accused Washington of targeting an airport, a railway station and two bridges, killing seven people.
Iran said it had deployed drones in Kuwait to target “the deployment sites of US forces and the logistical support centers of the ‘terrorist’ and ‘child-killing’ US military”, Iranian state TV reported.
“The attacks were in response to the crimes of the arrogant enemy and in revenge for the blood of the martyrs of the homeland,” it added.
Kuwait said earlier Friday it was responding to missile and drone attacks, a day after the Gulf nation faced aerial attacks from Iran.
Gulf nations Bahrain and Qatar also reported attacks early Friday.
Bahrain sounded a wave of sirens and urged citizens to take shelter, as Iranian state media reported that Tehran had targeted US helicopters and planes at an air base.
In Qatar, the defence ministry said the army had intercepted a missile attack, with AFP journalists in the capital Doha hearing several blasts.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced it was conducting a new wave of strikes on Thursday evening to “further degrade Iranian military capabilities” — the sixth straight night of attacks by American forces.
Iranian state media reported strikes on two bridges, a railway station and an airport in the southern part of the Islamic republic, near the strategic strait, which is crucial to global oil and gas flows.
Three people were killed in the attack on the bridges in Hormozgan province, state TV said on Telegram.
State TV in Tehran earlier reported two explosions in the western city of Bushehr — home to Iran’s only civilian nuclear plant — in a “continuation of the American enemy aggression”.
Tehran had earlier warned it would target infrastructure across the region if US President Donald Trump followed through on a threat to attack power plants and bridges in Iran — though the White House said he remained “open to diplomacy”.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Thursday that they struck a US airbase in Jordan with ballistic missiles in response to what they described as an American attack near a children’s cancer hospital, near Ahvaz in the southwest.
– ‘Never back down’ –
Iranian state media said the hospital was evacuated following US airstrikes on the area that foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei slammed as “barbaric”.
Hani, a 34-year-old teacher from Ahvaz, said the strikes were “very intense”, adding: “My hands are shaking. There were at least 11, 12 explosions. My ears are exploding.”
US allies in the Gulf, meanwhile, responded to attacks, with Kuwait saying early Friday its air defences were again combatting missile and drone attacks, and Bahrain sounding air raid sirens.
A senior Iranian military spokesman called for the US to withdraw from the region, saying “we will never back down over the Strait of Hormuz”, state TV reported.
The Strait of Hormuz was briefly reopened after the US-Iran deal in June, but Tehran said last week it would be closed again “until the US ends its aggression”.
The United States has also reimposed its blockade of Iran’s ports.
On Thursday, the American military said forces had boarded a ship in the Gulf of Oman to “ensure full compliance”, adding that three vessels had been redirected since the blockade resumed.
– Threats to infrastructure –
Pakistan’s foreign office spokesman, Tahir Andrabi, said Islamabad would “continue to encourage all sides to end violence and resume technical-level talks” under the memorandum of understanding it helped mediate last month.
But Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has warned that a deal “only has meaning when its clauses are valid and being implemented”.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Thursday that Trump would hold Iran “accountable” for going back on its word, but said “he is always open to diplomacy at the very same time”.
“They have expressed they still want to make a deal to the president. We’re talking to them, but again, the president is not going to allow them to fire on ships in the strait without paying a consequence for that,” she said.
Trump previously threatened to hit Iranian power plants and bridges unless Tehran returned to the negotiating table, telling Fox News: “Next week it gets really bad for them.”
On Thursday, the spokesman for Iran’s military headquarters said that if the US followed through on its threats, “all infrastructure in the region” would be “crushed”.
Since last week, renewed US attacks have killed at least 30 people in Iran, government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said.
Iran says attacked Al-Tanf military base in Syria
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Friday they had attacked the Al-Tanf military base in Syria.
“The IRGC announces a surprise attack on the enemy’s Special Operations Command Center in Syria’s Al-Tanf region in retaliation for the blood of the martyred Iranian soldiers in Iranshahr,” the state broadcaster wrote on Telegram.
US forces board ship to ensure blockade
wariranusisraelblockadeAmerican 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.
The previous day, a US aircraft fired on and disabled an unladen oil tanker that tried to break the blockade.
The military command also said Thursday it had “redirected 3 commercial vessels trying 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 time they disabled nine ships and redirected more than 140, according to CENTCOM.
Qatar says intercepted missile attack
Qatar said Friday it had intercepted a missile attack, after AFP journalists in the capital Doha reported hearing several blasts.
“The Ministry of Defense of State of Qatar announces that armed forces intercepted missile attack which targeted State of Qatar,” the defence ministry wrote on X.
Gulf states targeted
Jordan’s military said it had shot down three Iranian missiles, reporting no casualties or damage.
Iran meanwhile said it had targeted US military infrastructure in Kuwait, which said it was responding to missile and drone attacks. Bahrain and Qatar also reported attacks early Friday, with the Qatari defence ministry saying it had intercepted a missile attack.
Ship struck off Iraq
A drone struck a ship off the port in Iraq’s southern province of Basra, a security official told AFP, while the country’s oil ministry said an unspecified object had fallen near a tanker.
The official told AFP that a drone had struck a ship “carrying American-branded cars” near an oil terminal after it arrived from the United Arab Emirates.
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