US and Iran Strike Infrastructure as Escalation Fears Deepen

The United States struck bridges in Iran on Friday and Tehran responded by hitting a power and desalination plant in Kuwait, as both sides expanded their targets to include civilian infrastructure — a dangerous new threshold in the escalating conflict that has already collapsed a ceasefire and sent oil prices climbing toward their highest levels since the war began.

Bridges Struck in Southern Iran, Seven Reported Dead

US Central Command included “military logistics infrastructure” in its list of Friday targets for the first time in more than a week — a notable expansion of scope. Iranian state media reported at least five bridges were struck in the country’s south, with seven people killed in attacks on bridges in the southern port of Bandar Khamir, where the train station was also hit. An airport in Iranshahr, in a province bordering Pakistan, was also reported struck.

Videos verified by Reuters showed rubble, broken railings, and fire at a damaged bridge in Bandar Khamir. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said three villagers were killed while crossing the bridge and vowed Iran would not allow their blood “to be in vain.”

Kuwait Power Plant Hit, Raising Fears of Wider Infrastructure War

Iran struck back by attacking the US Iran infrastructure strikes escalation Gulf’s most vulnerable pressure point — critical civilian infrastructure in neighboring Gulf states. Kuwait authorities confirmed that a power generation and water desalination station was struck in an Iranian attack, causing damage, fires, and the disruption of multiple electricity generation units. Firefighters extinguished the blaze while technical teams began assessing damage and working to restore power.

The rich Gulf Arab states depend almost entirely on desalination plants to supply drinking water and electricity to their desert cities. When Iran struck a Kuwaiti desalination facility on March 30, it was seen as a major escalation that helped push Washington to declare the war’s first ceasefire a week later.

Iran also announced attacks on US air bases in Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain, and a US radar station in Oman. Explosions were reported in Doha, Qatar’s capital, where the interior ministry said a child was wounded by shrapnel.

Marines Board Tanker, Chemical Vessel Seized Off Yemen

At sea, US Marines boarded a tanker near the Strait of Hormuz to enforce Washington’s reimposed blockade of Iranian ports, releasing photos of Marines rappelling from a helicopter onto the vessel’s deck.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards navy separately reported targeting a Thai-flagged ship attempting to transit the strait, without providing further details. In the Gulf of Aden off Yemen, armed men boarded and seized a small chemical tanker — raising alarm about security near the Bab el-Mandeb, the second major energy chokepoint at the mouth of the Red Sea. Sources have told Reuters that Iran has already instructed its Houthi allies in Yemen to act if Washington continues striking Iranian infrastructure.

Oil Jumps, UN Expresses Alarm

Brent crude rose 3% following Friday’s escalation reports and was on track for a third consecutive weekly gain. Wall Street opened sharply lower before leveling off. The UN Secretary-General expressed concern specifically about “attacks on civilian infrastructure in Iran and across the region.”

Iranian adviser Mohsen Rezaei, a former Revolutionary Guards commander, issued one of Tehran’s starkest warnings yet. “If US strikes continue for several more days, we will move into a phase of full-scale offensive operations,” he told state television. Trump, meanwhile, has threatened broad airstrikes on Iranian infrastructure and has not ruled out a ground assault on Iranian coastal territory or islands. US officials have said the expanding strikes are designed in part to preserve Trump’s options.

The ceasefire memorandum signed last month has been in effective collapse since July 7, when Iran struck ships in the Strait of Hormuz and the US responded with airstrikes. Iran has since declared the strait closed, and the US has reimposed its own blockade of Iranian ports.