Here's the latest
• Attacks expand: Qatar, Kuwait, and Jordan have come under Iranian fire, and Iran also claimed it targeted the US military in Bahrain, Oman and Syria. The fresh reprisals by Iran appear to be the largest in the region since talks with the US collapsed.
• Iran says US struck bridges: Several bridges in southern Iran were hit in the latest round of US strikes, according to Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency. Many of the bridges that it said were targeted were on routes connected to the city of Bandar Abbas, a coastal city on the Strait of Hormuz.
• Tehran’s warning on ports: Iran could target “a network of key ports” in Gulf states in retaliation for multiple US attacks on a maritime control tower in the Iranian city of Chabahar, according to Fars.
• Oil prices rise: Global oil prices are on track to end the week higher as the conflict intensifies and the US-Iran agreement is in tatters.
“Unbearable” uncertainty: Iran's poorest region bears the brunt of US airstrikes
Iranians across coastal cities are bearing the brunt of renewed US strikes, as the region gets pulled into the US attempts to curb Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz.
“Two nights ago, they hit Ahvaz hard, my cousin’s wife died from the bombing, we went to the funeral yesterday. And then last night they again hit Ahvaz, it felt like they levelled the city,” a man from the southwestern city told CNN.
The cities currently being targeted are among Iran’s poorest and most ethnically diverse, home to large populations of minority communities distinct from Persian-majority centers like Tehran.
There have long been tensions with the central government, but residents of these provinces have historically suffered from underinvestment, high unemployment, and weaker infrastructure, despite the region being home to much of Iran’s energy industry and commercial ports.
As airstrikes hit the region’s main cities, some residents say they are attempting to live normally, while others, like a business owner in Ahvaz, say the situation could become a humanitarian disaster.
“It’s already 50°C (112 F), and now people are dealing with war on top of constant power cuts,” they said.
“What makes it worse is that it doesn’t even feel like anyone in charge cares. They won’t declare an emergency, they barely acknowledge what’s happening, and people keep trying to live normally because they don’t realize how serious the situation is.”
The cities and towns in southern Iran are no stranger to war. The residents bore the brunt of the fighting during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s.
“I was only a child during Iran-Iraq war, and now my kids are experiencing war as well. It’s something I just never wanted for them to live through,” a woman in Ahvaz said.
“You know, I was only a child during Iran-Iraq war, and now my kids are experiencing war as well- it’s something I just never wanted for them to live through. We are used to difficulty; we are used to hardship, but the uncertainty day in and day out feels sometimes unbearable.”
Tanker involved in "incident" with military near Oman, UK Navy says
The UK Navy says it has received a report of an incident off the coast of Oman involving a tanker and military forces in the area.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it had received a report “of an incident involving a merchant vessel and military forces” about 100 miles east of the Omani port of Duqm.
UKMTO provided no further details beyond saying the source for the report was “military authorities.” The incident is said to have occurred Thursday.
It’s unclear whether the vessel, which was not identified, was intercepted as part of the renewed US naval blockade of ships using Iranian ports.
CNN is seeking comment from the US military.
On Thursday, US Central Command said that Marines from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit had conducted “a verification boarding aboard M/T Wen Yao in the Gulf of Oman.”
The Wen Yao is a sanctioned tanker registered in Curacao that has been renamed as the Lan Jing.
The ship’s latest position, reported Thursday, was in the same area as the report from UKMTO.
What the US strike strategy on Iran is telling us
American precision strikes on Iranian bridges, railway junctures and power lines connecting key coastline cities appears to suggest a wider pattern by Washington intended to seize control of the Strait of Hormuz from Tehran.
According to Iran analyst Hamidreza Azizi, the strategy behind the strikes is to disrupt the logistics and mobility of Iranian military forces in the south. Azizi also suggests this could be preparation for a potential deployment of ground forces.
For six consecutive days, the US has unleashed waves of strikes on Iranian coastal targets — the most intense since the April ceasefire — hitting missile storage and launch sites, air defense systems, and coastal surveillance facilities, all of which reinforce Iran’s control over shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Intensifying strikes on infrastructure to cut off logistical supplies while targeting current Revolutionary Guard radar installations and naval facilities, suggests that the campaign may “extend beyond simply degrading Iran’s ability to threaten shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” Azizi says.
Officials said this week that destroying targets like missile launchers and radars could also lay the groundwork for the larger US military operations Trump has been mulling. The US has carried out daily strikes on Iranian positions along the Strait of Hormuz, including Wednesday on tiny Greater Tunb Island in the Strait of Hormuz, which has acted as a base for the Iranian military.
US-Iran conflict intensifies as wider Middle East comes under Iranian fire. Catch up here
As US forces marked a sixth consecutive night of airstrikes against Iran, Iranian retaliation expanded. Jordan, Qatar and Kuwait have each endured Iranian fire, with Iran also claiming to have targeted US military facilities in Bahrain and Syria.
Here’s what to know:
• US forces struck several bridges in southern Iran’s Hormozgan province overnight, killing at least eight and wounding 20, according to Iranian media. The bridges were on routes connected to the city of Bandar Abbas, a coastal city on the Strait of Hormuz, which is home to an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval base.
• Iran struck a power generation and water desalination plant in Kuwait — a Gulf state frequently targeted by Iran since the conflict emerged in February — causing a fire and prompting the government to urge residents to conserve electricity during the sweltering summer heat. Today’s forecast high for Kuwait is 46°C (115°F).
• Iran also claimed to have targeted US facilities across the Middle East in retaliation to the country’s relentless pummeling from US forces.
• An Iranian missile and drone attack has killed nine fighters from an Iranian-Kurdish group based in neighboring Iraq, according to an official from the group.
• In the UK, a 39-year-old man has been charged with assisting Iran’s intelligence service, London’s Metropolitan Police said.
• Oil prices are expected to end the week higher as the US-Iran conflict intensifies and fire continues to be exchanged. Prices briefly tumbled last month after the US and Iran agreed to a 60-day ceasefire, an agreement now in tatters.
CNN’s Lex Harvey, Kareem El Damanhoury, Brad Lendon, Kara Fox, Anna Cooban, Mostafa Salem and Aida Karimi contributed reporting.
Iran expanding regional targets in retaliation for US strikes
Iran targeted seven countries across the region late Thursday and early Friday, claiming for the first time an attack on a US base in Syria, as well as radar stations in Oman.
The announcements by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) suggest it is expanding retaliatory attacks after a week of US strikes.
Syria: The IRGC claimed to have targeted a US base at al-Tanf close to the border with Iraq, in what it said was retaliation for deadly US strikes, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
CNN could not independently verify the claim and has reached out to US Central Command. US forces were reported to have left the garrison in February.
Oman: The IRGC said it had “targeted and destroyed the maritime control radar at the Salamah Rocks and a US air control radar stationed in the Ghanam area of Oman.”
There are no reports from Oman that any installation was struck.
Jordan: The IRGC said it targeted US aircraft at a base in northern Jordan “using multiple ballistic missiles and numerous drones.” Jordan’s Armed Forces said on X that they intercepted three Iranian missiles targeting their territory. There were no casualties nor damage, they added.
Kuwait: The IRGC claimed it destroyed a US air defense launcher and its missiles in Kuwait, as well as positions housing US forces.
Kuwait’s Electricity Ministry said the strikes started a fire at a power and water desalination plant, which was extinguished.
Qatar: Qatar’s Defense Ministry said several attacks had been intercepted Friday. A child was wounded by falling shrapnel from an intercepted strike from Iran, Qatar’s interior ministry said. The IRGC said it had struck the US Al Udeid airbase in Qatar, a claim that could not be verified.
Bahrain: A frequent Iranian target as the home of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet. Iran’s military claimed it had again targeted US military assets in Bahrain on Friday. Sirens were activated twice, the country’s interior ministry said.
Iraq: An Iranian missile and drone attack killed nine fighters of an Iranian-Kurdish group based in neighboring Iraq early Friday, according to an official from the group. Iran’s state news agency reported the attack without including a claim of responsibility from the IRGC.
Vessel boarded by "unauthorized personnel" in Gulf of Aden, UKMTO says
A vessel heading off the coast of Yemen has been boarded by “unauthorized personnel,” according to a warning posted Friday by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), citing unnamed military authorities.
The UK-based Ambrey maritime risk management group said the vessel was a Tanzania-flagged oil and chemical tanker boarded by armed members of a suspected pirate group.
It said a South Korean naval vessel was headed toward the ship to provide assistance.
The UKMTO advised vessels in the area to “transit with caution.”
It remains unclear whether the suspected pirates are linked to Iran. However, Tehran has repeatedly warned over the past two weeks that it could expand the war by disrupting oil shipping routes beyond the Strait of Hormuz if the United States continues striking the country.
Since the Strait of Hormuz was effectively shut, Saudi Arabia has routed almost all its crude exports through its Red Sea terminals.
Vessel attacked in Gulf: A tanker was hit by an “unkown projectile” in the Strait of Hormuz off Oman on Thursday, according to a UKMTO report.
The projectile caused minor structural damage, but there were no injuries among the crew and the ship has continued its journey, the report said.
Iran targets power and water desalination plant in Kuwait, authorities say
A fire broke out this morning at a power generation and water desalination plant in Kuwait following an Iranian attack, prompting the government to urge residents to conserve electricity during the sweltering summer heat.
Electrical generation units were damaged in the attack, Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy said in a statement. The ministry added that the fire has since been extinguished.
Today’s forecast high for Kuwait is 46°C (115°F).
Kuwait has been one of the countries most frequently targeted by Iran since hostilities resumed between Tehran and Washington earlier this month. Its power and water desalination plants have been attacked in the past, including in April.
Following Friday’s attack, the Kuwaiti government called on residents of the oil-rich nation to conserve electricity to “directly support the electrical grid” and to allow technical teams to “preserve the continuity of electrical services” in the country.
Regional Arab countries, including Kuwait, are almost entirely dependent on desalination for drinking water. Desalination is the process of converting seawater into drinking water.
In Kuwait and Oman, desalination accounts for around 90% of freshwater needs, Bahrain 85%, and Saudi Arabia around 70%. Major Gulf cities, including Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha, Kuwait City and Jeddah are almost wholly dependent on desalinated water.
Iran could target ports in Gulf states, including key Saudi oil facility, state media warns
Iran could target “a network of key ports” in Gulf states in response to US strikes on the Iranian port of Chabahar, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.
“Following the attack on Chabahar, five key regional ports are within range of a response,” it said.
The attack on Chabahar “effectively presented Tehran with a list of vital commercial ports hosting US interests across the region,” it added.
Fars listed the ports as including Jebel Ali, a huge container port in the United Arab Emirates, and Mina Salman in Bahrain, home to the headquarters of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet.
Shuaiba Port and Camp Arifjan in Kuwait were also on the list. Fars described the sites as a forward headquarters for US Central Command’s land forces. Six US personnel were killed by a missile strike on Shuaiba early in the conflict.
The list published by Fars included Qatar’s main port, Hamad; and the King Fahd Industrial Port (KFIP) at Yanbu on the west coast of Saudi Arabia, which has become a logistics hub for the US military.
Yanbu has become even more important during the war, serving as Saudi Arabia’s main crude export outlet as traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains severely disrupted.
Its terminals, including those at KFIP, have provided the world’s largest crude exporter with a vital alternative route while helping sustain global supplies and limiting the rise in oil prices.
Nine reported killed in Iranian strike on Kurdish group in Iraq
An Iranian missile and drone attack has killed nine fighters of an Iranian-Kurdish group based in neighboring Iraq, according to an official from the group.
There are several Kurdish opposition groups based in northern Iraq. Iran has targeted them regularly since the conflict with the United States began at the end of February.
The latest attack was on a base belonging to a group called the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan in the town of in Zargwezala, which was attacked several times in March, according to Komala.
Iranian drone and missile attacks on Iranian Kurdish opposition groups have continued almost daily. There have been dozens since the Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Iran and the US in mid-June.
Early in the conflict, US President Donald Trump suggested that Iranian-Kurdish groups based in Iraq would take part in ground operations against the Iranian regime.
“I think it’s wonderful that they want to do that, I’d be all for it,” the president told Reuters early in March.
But nothing came of the plan, and at the end of March Komala’s leader Abdullah Mohtadi said in an interview: “We are not going to send our forces to the slaughter.”
Another Komala official told Spain’s El Pais newspaper: “When the (Iranian) government is weak, the people of Kurdistan will step forward, and Komala with them. But it would be good to receive more support from allied forces.”
Eight killed in overnight US strikes on Iran, Iranian media says
At least eight people were killed and 20 were injured in strikes by the United States on bridges in the Hormozgan province overnight, the Iranian state-run news agency said.
The US targeted six bridges connecting several cities together near the Iranian coast in the south, including the key port city of Bandar Abbas overlooking the Strait of Hormuz.
The overnight deaths bring the total number of people killed in Iran to 38 since the US restarted its strikes on the Islamic Republic in July, a spokesperson for the Iranian Health Ministry, Hossein Kermanpour, said on X.
At least 400 people have injured, Kermanpour said.
Oil prices poised to end the week higher
Global oil prices were on track to end the week higher after the US launched its sixth consecutive night of strikes against Iran.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, was up 0.4% to nearly $85 a barrel by 3.37 a.m. ET, up from a closing price of $76 last Friday. West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, was up 0.9% to almost $80 a barrel by the same time, up from $71 a week ago.
Last month, oil prices tumbled after the US and Iran agreed to a 60-day ceasefire and increasing numbers of ships were able to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
But, with that ceasefire now in tatters, and after Iran has retaliated by striking neighboring countries Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan, oil prices have returned to prices last seen over a month ago.
If Brent continues on its upward trajectory, “that would be its first close above $85 (a barrel) in over a month,” wrote Deutsche Bank analysts in a note on Friday.
Asian stock markets also dropped on Friday in another wobble from investors over the sustainability of the AI boom. Taiwan’s stock index led the declines, closing down 6.5%.
“That combination of concerns around tech and inflation has really put a dent in the more buoyant narrative after the soft US (consumer price inflation) report earlier this week,” the analysts wrote.
Man in UK charged with assisting Iranian intelligence service
A 39-year-old man has been charged in the UK with assisting Iran’s intelligence service, London’s Metropolitan Police said today.
Vahid Aberi, from the northern English city of Liverpool, was arrested on Wednesday in the Birmingham area by British Counter Terrorism Police officers, according to a statement from the Met.
Aberi was arrested under section 3 of the National Security Act, which says that it is a criminal offense to “assist a foreign intelligence service” including “providing, or providing access to, information, goods, services or financial benefits (whether directly or indirectly).”
“The country to which the investigation relates is Iran,” the statement said.
Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London said that police have marked an ongoing rise in the pace of its security investigations in recent years, and described the case as another instance of proactive intervention.
“While we can’t comment in detail around the allegations now that a man has been charged, I do want to reassure the public that we have not identified any direct threat to them nor any threat towards a community or individual in connection with this investigation,” she added.
Iran showing the firepower to keep region on edge, and Strait of Hormuz closed
Iran claims to have targeted US facilities and partners across the Middle East on Friday, unleashing what appear to be its largest reprisals since a fragile ceasefire shattered almost a week ago.
US forces have been pounding Iran – sometimes more than once daily – for the past six days. Washington says the renewed strikes are retaliation against Tehran for targeting commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, and not keeping its side of the memorandum of understanding that was to be the framework for a lasting peace.
That agreement is now in tatters. And the Iranian military, which the Trump administration has said repeatedly has been decimated, retains its punch.
Tehran could still have thousands of drones and missiles in its arsenal, according to previous CNN reporting, enough to keep up this pace of attacks for a long time.
By early April, the Pentagon said Iranian missile and drone attacks had declined by 90% since the beginning of the war in late February. But there have been no exact numbers of how many missiles and drones Iran had when the war began or how many have since been used or destroyed.
Just before the ceasefire began in April, Tehran still had thousands of drones and roughly half of its missile launchers intact, CNN reported, citing sources familiar with US intelligence.
By late May, Iran had restarted drone production and was replacing missile sites and launchers destroyed earlier in the war, sources told CNN.
Analysts note that Iran doesn’t need a huge inventory of drones and missiles to destabilize the region and keep the Strait of Hormuz effectively shut, cutting off around 20% of the world’s pre-war oil supplies.
And by Thursday evening in the Gulf, Iran’s action over the past six days seemed to be having the desired effects.
Just three ships had transited the Strait of Hormuz in the previous 24 hours, according to open-source data from MarineTraffic.
Before the war, an average of about 110 ships transited the strait daily.
US attacks Iranian maritime control tower for third time, state media reports
US forces attacked a maritime control tower in the Iranian city Chabahar for the third time this week, according to Iranian state media.
The attack was a missile strike on the tower, state-run Fars News and IRIB said. The tower is primarily used for search-and-rescue operations involving fishermen at sea as well as ensuring maritime security.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted an image on X that appears to show the tower falling , as a reply to an earlier post that read: “Iran does not control the (Strait of Hormuz).”
Earlier Friday, CNN obtained and geolocated a video showing a drone flying over a populated area of Chabahar, while smoke rises in the distance.
Chabahar, located on the northern shores of the Gulf of Oman, was struck earlier in the war – but it has become a more prominent target since the ceasefire unraveled.
Yasha Saebi contributed reporting.
Tanker hit by unknown projectile in Strait of Hormuz, UKMTO reports
A tanker was reportedly hit by an unknown projectile 19 nautical miles east of Khasab, Oman, causing minor structural damage, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said Friday.
All crew are safe and accounted for, UKMTO said.
On Thursday, an Iranian military spokesperson said Iran will “under no circumstances” permit the US to “interfere” with the Strait of Hormuz, he added. “This is Iran’s unbreakable red line.”
Drone seen flying low over Chabahar as smoke rises following US strikes
Video obtained by CNN showed a low-flying drone above the Iranian port city of Chabahar early Friday morning local time.
The drone can be seen flying over a populated area in Chabahar while smoke rises in the distance.
It is unclear who was operating the drone but its appearance was consistent with an American-made MQ-9 Reaper.
The US has targeted Chabahar over the past several days including a strike that hit a maritime control tower near the city’s port.
Several bridges targeted in US strikes on southern Iran: state media
Several bridges in southern Iran’s Hormozgan province were hit in the latest round of US strikes, the governor’s office said, according to Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency.
Many of the bridges that were targeted were on routes connected to the city of Bandar Abbas, a coastal city on the Strait of Hormuz which is home to a Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval base.
Earlier, Fars reported a railway junction in Bandar Abbas had been hit. Iran’s energy ministy said power lines in Bandar Abbas and surrounding villages were damaged, according to semi-official Tasnim News Agency.
A photo released by state broadcaster IRIB and geolocated by CNN showed a damaged Kahurestan Bridge, linking Bandar Abbas to the city of Shiraz, after it was reportedly hit by a US strike.
At least seven people were killed and nine were wounded, reported multiple state media outlets.
CNN could not independently verify Iran’s claims, and has reached out to US Central Command for comment.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to strike Iran’s bridges and power plants if Tehran does not return to the negotiating table.
Yasha Saebi contributed reporting.
US completed a sixth night of strikes against Iran. Catch up on the latest
The US military said it completed what it called its latest “major wave” of strikes against Iran on Thursday, as the war showed no sign of de-escalating after almost a week of back-and-forth attacks from both sides.
Meanwhile, Gulf states including Qatar were fending off fresh attacks. Qatar, a key mediator in the US-Iran conflict, said a child was hurt by falling shrapnel as it intercepted an Iranian attack.
Here’s the latest:
More on attacks: Iran accused the US of striking several bridges in the country as explosions rocked several areas. Many of the bridges that it said were targeted were on routes connected to the city of Bandar Abbas, a coastal city on the Strait of Hormuz.
Allies under fire: Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait reported fresh attacks early Friday morning local time. Qatar, which has a relatively friendlier relationship with Iran, has served as a key negotiator during the conflict. Jordan also reported intercepting three Iranian missiles, with no damage or casualties sustained. The Iranian military also claimed to have targeted US military forces in Syria.
Trump’s primetime address: President Donald Trump sought a rare primetime address in wartime to speak directly to the American people, but he did not use the opportunity to clearly lay out his case for a path forward for the conflict in Iran. Read more about his speech here.
Limit AC use, says ministry: Iran’s Energy Ministry called on Iranians to limit their use of air conditioning to allow for a more stable supply of electricity to the southern parts of the country. The ministry’s head of public relations, told semi-official Tasnim News Agency that following attacks in places like Bandar Abbas, power lines were damaged, causing supply disruptions.
Strait of Hormuz: Shipping traffic dropped on Thursday from its already diminished levels, with just three ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours, according to open-source data from MarineTraffic.
Oil and gas prices: The White House pushed back on concerns that renewed hostilities with Iran are again spiking oil and gas prices. There “may be temporary disruptions in the oil market,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, but she praised Trump’s energy policies and “swift actions” for preventing “massive increases in the price of oil that so many warned about.”
Iran claims to have targeted US forces in Syria: state media
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed to have targeted US forces in al-Tanf, Syria, in what it said was retaliation for deadly US strikes in Iranshahr, according to a statement reported Friday by semi-official Tasnim news agency.
CNN could not independently verify the claim and has reached out to US Central Command.
US military forces departed the strategic al-Tanf garrison in February after more than a decade, amid a broader transition to a smaller US footprint in Syria, US Central Command said in announcement at the time.
The IRGC said that as long as US action in the Strait of Hormuz continues, “not a single drop of oil or gas will be exported from the region.”
Yasha Saebi contributed reporting.
Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan report new attacks
Four countries where the United States maintains military facilities – Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan – all appear to have come under Iranian fire overnight into Friday.
Qatar’s Defense Ministry said Friday morning it was fending off its second air attack of the day. An earlier wave left a child injured by falling shrapnel, according to the Interior Ministry.
While Iran has repeatedly struck military bases in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, it has refrained from striking Qatar in recent days. Tehran has not claimed the attacks on Qatar Friday morning.
Qatar, which has a relatively friendlier relationship with Iran, has served as a key negotiator throughout the conflict. But also was targeted earlier by Iran in the war.
Meanwhile in Bahrain, sirens were activated for the second time on Friday morning, according to a post on the interior ministry’s X account.
Iran’s military claimed it targeted US military assets in Bahrain, according to state media IRNA. Video released by state media outlet IRIB on Friday purportedly showed drones being launched toward Bahrain. CNN has reached out to US Central Command for comments.
Kuwait said early Friday morning local time it was responding to missile and drone threats and warned residents that explosions may be heard as air defense systems intercept attacks. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed it had targeted various military hardware in Kuwait, reported Iranian state media.
Jordan’s armed forces said Friday that three Iranian missiles had been intercepted with no casualties or damage incurred. The IRGC said it struck US fighter jets and refuelling planes in Jordan. CNN has not verified the claims.
Iran’s IRGC also said Friday afternoon it had attacked a US radar in Oman, according to state media.
