US-Iran conflict widens as drones hit Irbil and Bahrain sounds sirens

Irbil,UPDATED: Jul 24, 2026 17:28 IST

Explosive-laden drones targeted Irbil in northern Iraq and sirens rang out in Bahrain on Friday, hours after the US military said it had completed its 13th straight night of strikes on Iran. The fighting has intensified over the past week, with the US striking Iran while Tehran has attacked ships in the Strait of Hormuz and targeted US assets and allies across the region.

The Strait of Hormuz remains at the centre of the conflict because any disruption there can hit global energy supplies and push up fuel prices worldwide. Pressure has also grown in the Red Sea after the Iran-backed Houthi rebels targeted two Saudi tankers. Iran's Health Ministry said 55 people have been killed and more than 600 wounded in strikes in recent weeks. The US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28 and have since given varying reasons for the war, including removing Tehran's government and ending its nuclear programme, but the fighting has now turned into a struggle over control of the strait.

US-led forces intercepted and shot down five explosive drones over Irbil on Friday morning, security officials in northern Iraq said. "Fortunately, the incident caused no casualties or damage," they said. An Associated Press journalist heard at least seven blasts in the city and saw at least four plumes of black smoke rising from areas near or inside a base at Irbil airport that hosts US forces. Flights continued as normal, according to the state-run Iraqi News Agency, which cited the airport's director. US military officials in Iraq did not respond to a request for comment. The US earlier had around 2,500 troops in Iraq for training and operations against the Islamic State group, though many have since withdrawn and a smaller number of advisers and other personnel remain, many of them in Irbil. Iran's Revolutionary Guard urged people in neighbouring countries to stay away from bases with American troops and asked them to report locations where such forces are stationed. Bahrain, home to the US Navy's 5th Fleet, said it had intercepted and shot down Iranian aerial attacks on Friday, but did not say if there were any casualties or damage.

Overnight, US strikes hit a naval base used by Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in the north of the country, according to the semiofficial Fars and ISNA news agencies. Blasts were also reported on Qeshm Island, which hosts naval assets including drone boats that Iran can use in the Strait of Hormuz, and in Isfahan province, home to a major Iranian air base and one of Iran's nuclear sites. Other strikes were reported in Khuzestan in the southwest and Fars province in the south. US Central Command said the latest barrage was meant to "further degrade Iran's ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters" as Washington tries to regain control over the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil and gas moved in peacetime.

Iran's ability to disrupt the Strait of Hormuz has given it leverage in any negotiations, and that pressure increased after the Houthis targeted two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea on Thursday. Brent crude rose above USD 100 a barrel after the attacks before easing later. The Houthis had threatened to block the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Saudi-linked shipping. The waterway, at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and carries about 12 per cent of global trade, including a quarter of global container traffic. It has become even more important for Saudi Arabia, which has diverted millions of barrels of oil a day to its Red Sea port of Yanbu to avoid the Strait of Hormuz. US President Donald Trump also threatened "major military punishment" against the Houthis if attacks on ships continued.

Trump separately warned Iran over ship attacks, saying on social media on Thursday that sanctioned Iranian funds held by the US would be used to repair vessels damaged in the war. "Please let this statement serve to represent, until further notice, that from this point forth, any and all damages done to Ships, Cargo, or anything related thereto, will be paid for by Iranian Money that the United States has in its possession, and controls," he said. It was not clear what legal route he would use to access or spend the money. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi criticised the move, writing on X that "once governments normalize confiscation, no one's assets are safe. Ensuing chaos will not be pretty or peaceful." The Maritime Organisation said at least 6,000 mariners are stranded on about 400 vessels around the Strait of Hormuz. UN human rights chief Volker Turk on Friday called for "urgent action" to help them, with his office saying some had been abandoned by ship owners and left to "fend for themselves without food, water, fuel, medical care, electricity or means to communicate with their families." Iran has said it has the right to manage traffic and possibly charge fees in the strait, which was toll-free before the war, and it has attacked ships using a route there that is overseen by US forces and meant to stay outside Tehran's control.

The latest attacks in Iraq, Bahrain, Iran and nearby waterways underlined how the conflict has spread across the region, with the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding sea lanes now at the heart of the fighting and no clear path yet to ease tensions.

With PTI Inputs

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