US hits Iran ports and bridges as Hormuz battle widens across Gulf

Dubai,UPDATED: Jul 17, 2026 20:40 IST

The United States expanded its airstrike campaign against Iran early Friday, hitting bridges, energy infrastructure and a tower at a key port, as President Donald Trump stepped up pressure on Tehran over its grip on the Strait of Hormuz. Iran responded with missile attacks on US-allied countries in the Middle East, including Qatar and Kuwait, after the interim ceasefire agreed last month collapsed.

The fighting has entered several days of back-and-forth attacks as Washington and Tehran battle for control of the strait. Iranian officials said recent US strikes have killed dozens and wounded hundreds, with fresh casualties reported on Friday. The conflict has also disrupted shipping through the waterway and pushed oil prices above USD 86 a barrel. In a primetime address on Thursday, Trump said, "We are likewise winning big in Iran, and you will see the fruits of that labour very, very shortly."

Iran effectively closed the strait to shipping traffic when the US and Israel launched the war on February 28, sending oil prices sharply higher and giving Tehran leverage in negotiations. 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 a prolonged Middle East conflict.

Overnight into Friday, US airstrikes hit bridges in Iran's southern Hormozgan province, killing at least seven people, Iranian state television reported. The strikes hit Bandar Khamir on Iran's coast on the Strait of Hormuz. The highway and railway bridge strikes appeared aimed at cutting off Bandar Abbas, Iran's main port, from routes leading into the country's central region and on to Tehran. Other routes remain open, but the strikes could still disrupt the movement of military supplies and goods needed by Iran's 90 million people.

Iran also acknowledged attacks on its power infrastructure for the first time during the US campaign. Its Energy Ministry urged people in southern provinces to use less electricity, saying those areas "are currently experiencing extreme heat and attacks on power infrastructure". The ministry did not say whether power plants, transmission lines or other equipment had been hit.

The US military's Central Command said it struck dozens of targets in air raids that ended at dawn on Friday, the sixth straight night of American attacks. The strikes also brought down a tower at Iran's Chabahar port on the Gulf of Oman, IRNA reported. The port, which Iran had been running with support from India, is an important trade route for neighbouring, landlocked Afghanistan and has been repeatedly targeted in US strikes. Iran said the tower oversaw commercial traffic into the port, though the Revolutionary Guard also operates at ports across the country. By 6 am on Friday, the US strikes had killed at least 38 people and wounded more than 400 in Iran, according to Health Ministry spokesperson Hossein Kermanpour.

Iran retaliated on Friday by firing missiles at Qatar, which twice warned residents to take shelter. Explosions were heard overhead as air defences tried to intercept the missiles, and Qatar's Interior Ministry said falling debris wounded a child. Qatar, along with Pakistan, has been mediating efforts to end the war, but talks have broken down over Iran's control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran also targeted Bahrain and Kuwait early on Friday. In Kuwait, authorities said a power and water desalination plant was hit, causing widespread damage. About 90 per cent of the country's drinking water comes from desalination. Kuwait said the fire was put out and work was under way to assess the damage and restore the station. Jordan's military said it intercepted three incoming Iranian missiles on Friday morning.

Explosions were also heard in Irbil and Sulaymaniyah in northern Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region as air defences responded to incoming fire. The attack apparently targeted the Iranian Kurdish dissident group Komala, killing at least nine people and wounding others, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons. Iran did not immediately claim the attack, though it has targeted Komala in the past.

Also on Friday, a tanker travelling through the Strait of Hormuz on the route closest to Oman came under attack, the British military said. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said the vessel suffered minor damage and no crew member was injured. Iran did not immediately acknowledge the attack. In recent days, Tehran has openly targeted ships using that route, which is overseen by the US military and is meant to remain outside Iranian control.

Iran has said the strait should be under its sole control and that ships should pay fees to Tehran, even though it has long been regarded internationally as an international waterway. Trump has in recent days repeated threats to hit Iranian power stations and bridges to force Tehran to ease its hold on the strait, through which about a fifth of all oil and gas traded once passed in peacetime. The US has also reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports to stop crude oil shipments.

Crossings through the strait fell to a three-week low of eight vessels on Thursday, according to MarineTraffic.com. It said seven of those ships used a route operated by Iran and none used the route closest to Oman. Lloyd's List Intelligence said some oil shippers were passing through with their tracking devices switched off because of the risks, while many others were staying put. A larger share of the region's energy is now moving through pipelines, but not enough to make up for the drop in shipping through the strait.

In sum, the latest US strikes broadened the war by targeting transport and energy infrastructure in Iran, including at Chabahar, while Iran answered with missile attacks across the region and pressure on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The fighting has raised casualties, hit vital infrastructure and deepened disruption in one of the world's most important energy routes.

With PTI Inputs

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