The US launched a wave of strikes against Iran for the sixth night in a row, its military said, as the two sides battled over control of the Strait of Hormuz.
US Central Command (Centcom) said the attacks were intended to “further degrade Iranian military capabilities”, before saying it had boarded a vessel as part of its blockade of Iranian ports.
State media reported that the US had hit civilian infrastructure, including bridges, a train station and an airport. The BBC has verified an attack on one bridge to the west of Bandar Abbas in Hormozgan province.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) say they have retaliated by striking US maritime surveillance radar sites in Oman as well as targets in Kuwait and Bahrain. They also claim to have attacked a US special operations command centre in Syria.
The IRGC said the surprise attack at al-Tanf in Syria, near the border with Jordan, was in retaliation for the killing of Iranian soldiers two days ago. Neither Syria nor the US have commented on the claim.
Later on Friday, Jordan’s military said it shot down three Iranian missiles with no casualties or damage reported.
Kurdish forces in Iraq also said eight drones were shot down over the Iraqi city of Erbil, with no casualties reported.
As attacks escalate, the Strait of Hormuz – a critical waterway off Iran’s coast that Tehran effectively blocked in response to US-Israeli strikes – has remained shut.
That has impacted the flow of oil from the region and the head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, says he has concerns about global energy supplies.
“We should be worried, and I am worried, if the situation does not improve in the next few weeks,” Birol said on Thursday night.
On Friday the Chinese and Pakistani foreign ministers called for the US and Iran to stop fighting and resume negotiations.
