US-Iran strikes intensify as Hormuz battle deepens and oil surges

Dubai,UPDATED: Jul 18, 2026 09:38 IST

The United States and Iran exchanged fresh strikes on Saturday as fighting over the Strait of Hormuz intensified, with no clear end in sight after the collapse of an interim ceasefire. The war, begun by the US and Israel more than four months ago, has increasingly centred on control of the strategic waterway, sending oil prices higher and sharply reducing shipping traffic.

The latest round saw the US target Iranian military and infrastructure sites, while Iran fired missiles and drones towards Gulf states. Kuwait said it was intercepting Iranian missiles and drones on Saturday, and Bahrain said air sirens had sounded, as the conflict widened across the region.

The US Central Command said late Friday it had launched its seventh straight night of attacks aimed at weakening Iran's military. Early Saturday, it said the strikes had hit "surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities".

Iranian state television said US airstrikes hit bridges in Bandar Khamir in southern Hormozgan province 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 onwards to Tehran. Iran also acknowledged "attacks on power infrastructure" for the first time on Friday, when its Energy Ministry urged people in southern provinces facing extreme heat to reduce electricity use, though it did not say what had been hit.

Iranian authorities said at least 46 people were killed and more than 400 wounded in recent US strikes, including eight killed in a bridge strike on Friday. US officials said 13 additional American 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.

US strikes carried out overnight into Friday also brought down a tower at Iran's Chabahar port on the Gulf of Oman, according to the state-run IRNA news agency, and the US military later confirmed this. Chabahar, which Iran has been running with support from India, has repeatedly been targeted in American strikes. Iran said the tower oversaw commercial traffic into the port, but Central Command said it was part of a maritime surveillance network used by Iran's Revolutionary Guard to "track and target" commercial vessels in the strait.

On Friday evening, Iranian state media reported explosions in central and southern Iran, including around Ahvaz, as well as in Lar, Yazd and Sirik. The wider military campaign has unfolded as Iran has effectively closed the strait to shipping since the war began on February 28, pushing oil prices higher. Oil rose above USD 86 a barrel on Friday, close to a one-month high, while vessel crossings through the strait fell to a three-week low of eight ships on Thursday, according to MarineTraffic.com.

Iran struck back across the Gulf on Friday. Qatar warned residents to take shelter as Iranian missiles were fired towards the country, and falling debris wounded a child, according to its Interior Ministry. Iran also targeted Bahrain and Kuwait. In Kuwait, authorities said an Iranian attack hit a power and water desalination plant, causing widespread damage, while a defence ministry spokesman said drone attacks on army facilities and camps injured an unspecified number of personnel. Jordan's military said it intercepted three incoming missiles on Friday morning.

Explosions were also heard on Friday morning in Irbil and Sulaymaniyah in Iraq's Kurdish region as air defences engaged 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 anonymously for security reasons. Iran did not immediately claim that 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 ship suffered minor damage and no crew members were injured. Iran did not immediately acknowledge the attack, though in recent days it has openly targeted ships using that route, which is overseen by the US military and meant to lie outside Tehran's control.

Iran has said the strait should be under its sole control and that vessels should pay fees to Tehran, even though it has long been regarded internationally as an international waterway. In an address to the American public on Thursday evening, US President Donald Trump said, "We are likewise winning big in Iran, and you will see the fruits of that labour very, very shortly." Before the war, Washington had been in talks with Tehran over Iran's nuclear programme, and Trump is now under political pressure to end the conflict and avoid a prolonged Middle East war he had campaigned against.

With the ceasefire over, the exchange of strikes has continued to hit military sites, ports, transport links and energy infrastructure, while regional states remain under threat and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz stays sharply disrupted.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends