Washington and Tehran have been testing the limits of escalation since their ceasefire agreement collapsed last week
Smoke rises following a strike at an unknown location during what the U.S. military says is its latest wave of strikes on Iran, hitting “Iranian military targets such as coastal surveillance and air defense sites, military logistics infrastructure, and maritime capabilities,” in this still image taken from handout video released July 16, 2026. PHOTO: REUTERS
Iran launched renewed attacks on US Gulf allies on Saturday after a seventh straight night of US strikes targeting Iranian military sites, including logistics infrastructure, escalating the war one week after a fragile ceasefire agreement fell apart.
Both sides also aimed at shipping traffic, with the US saying it was enforcing a naval blockade while Iran said it targeted vessels that violated its rules on navigating the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway for one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.
Oil prices climbed more than 4% on Friday to their highest level in more than a month, applying political pressure on US President Donald Trump as his Republican Party tries to hold on to power in November congressional elections.
Washington and Tehran have been testing the limits of escalation since their ceasefire agreement collapsed last week, raising the prospect of a return to all-out war.
The US military’s Central Command said it concluded its latest round of attacks by hitting surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage and maritime capabilities.
“US forces employed fighter aircraft, aerial drones, and warships in addition to other assets,” Central Command said in a statement. “More than 50,000 American service members are operating across the Middle East and remain vigilant, lethal, and ready.”
Read: US strikes in Iran hit airport, bridges and railway station
Iranian media reported on Saturday that several missiles struck power facilities and desalination pumps in the southern Iranian city of Jask, citing a local official. The official said drinking water had been cut off in villages in Jask due to the attack.
The US said its forces redirected four commercial vessels, disabled one, and boarded another to enforce its naval blockade of Iran.
In turn Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said four vessels violating its rules on shipping traffic were stopped from going through the strait with a combined missile and drone operation.
In addition, Iranian media, citing Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, reported that two oil tankers exploded and caught fire after passing through a mined route south of the strait. The US military labelled that report as false.
Armed men seized another vessel off Yemen, raising concern over security in the Middle East’s other big choke point for oil shipments at the mouth of the Red Sea.
Iran’s state television quoted the Revolutionary Guards as saying that until US “aggression” comes to an end, it will not be possible to export chemical fertilisers or even a “single drop of oil and gas” from the region.
Mohsen Rezaei, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, warned on Friday against US escalation or any attempt to seize Iranian territory.
Iran’s IRGC warns countries hosting US forces to prepare for ‘corresponding response’
Iran’s IRGC warned countries hosting US military forces to prepare for a “corresponding response”, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency, as per Al Jazeera‘s reporting.
The IRGC said on Saturday that such nations “activate their civil defence units to protect their citizens and move them away from potential military targets”, stating that their territories are being used as launchpads for aggression against Iran.
According to the Tasnim report, the IRGC Ground Forces used drones and missiles to target a US military logistics hub at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, claiming to have caused casualties among the personnel there.
Kuwait says engaging Iranian missile, drone attacks
The Kuwaiti army said on Saturday that its air defense forces are “currently responding to hostile missile and drone threats” launched by Iran.
“The General Staff of the Kuwaiti Armed Forces confirms that any explosions that may be heard are the result of air defence systems intercepting hostile targets,” the army said in a post through US social media company X.
It called on the people to follow security instructions issued by the Kuwaiti officials.
The developments come amid heightened tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, where the US launches strikes on Iran, and Tehran retaliates with strikes on regional countries, including Kuwait, home to US military assets.
US reissues Middle East travel warning amid heightened regional tensions
The US State Department on Friday renewed its travel warning for the Middle East, citing heightened tensions and urging Americans in the region to remain cautious.
“Due to high tensions in the Middle East, the security environment remains complex with the potential for unforeseen escalation,” it said in an advisory shared by its Bureau of Consular Affairs on US social media platform X.
The agency encouraged Americans in the region to monitor news reports for breaking developments and advised those traveling in or through the area to confirm flight schedules with their air carriers.
Washington also urged US citizens to reconsider travel to or through the Middle East and directed travelers to review country-specific security alerts.
Jordan intercepted 10 Iranian missiles
Jordan’s Armed Forces announced on Saturday that their air defense units intercepted 10 Iranian missiles aimed at the kingdom during the early morning hours.
The interceptions were part of defensive and operational efforts to protect the country’s sovereignty, secure its airspace and ensure the safety of its citizens, according to a statement from a military official at the General Command of the Jordanian Armed Forces, carried by the Jordan News Agency.
The military said there were no casualties or property damage.
It also said that teams from the Royal Engineering Corps were deployed to collect missile debris that landed in various parts of the country, securing the affected areas in line with established technical and security protocols.
Missiles targeted US military assets and fuel tanks in Bahrain, says Iran’s military
US military assets and fuel tanks were struck during Iran’s missile attacks on a US base in Bahrain, according to the Iranian military as reported by the Tasnim news agency, as per Al Jazeera.
In the statement, Iran’s military said “in response to the crimes of global arrogance”, it has targeted the “aircraft hangar and parking lot” as well as “fuel tanks” at the Sheikh Isa airbase and several communication bridges in Bahrain.
The statement said the US had used the base to launch “operations against regional targets, especially our country”.
Concern over infrastructure
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was concerned about the escalation, particularly “attacks on civilian infrastructure in Iran and across the region,” his spokesperson said.
The US military’s Central Command said its targets included “military logistics infrastructure”, the first time it mentioned infrastructure in more than a week.
Iranian media reported enemy strikes early on Saturday in coastal Hormozgan Province on the Iranian side of the Strait of Hormuz. State TV said three people were killed and eight wounded while two bridges and a road tunnel were damaged.
Iranian media reported explosions heard or strikes carried out in Sirik, Ahvaz, Yazd, Jask and Khorramabad late Friday or early Saturday.
On Friday, Iranian state media said at least five bridges were struck in the south in US attacks. Seven people were reported killed in attacks on bridges in the southern port of Bandar Khamir, where a train station was also hit. An airport was reported hit further east and away from the coast in Iranshahr, in a province bordering Pakistan.
Read more: Iran continues to talk to US, wants to make a deal, White House says
Trump has threatened to launch broad-based air strikes on Iran’s infrastructure and has also declined to rule out a ground assault on Iran’s coast or islands. US officials have said attacks on southern Iran are designed in part to give Trump options.
Such moves risk provoking Iran to attack the vital infrastructure of vulnerable Gulf states, or having its allies in Yemen further disrupt global energy supplies by attacking shipping from the Red Sea.
Iran announced attacks on Gulf countries that host US airbases, including Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan, in addition to a US vessel in the northern Indian Ocean. Saudi Arabia’s civil defence issued early warnings, the first in several months, in at least two places but had yet to report any damage. Earlier in the war, Iran hit some of the oil-rich kingdom’s energy facilities.
Authorities in Kuwait said one of the country’s power generation and water desalination stations had been hit in an Iranian attack, causing damage, a fire and the disruption of a large number of electricity generation units.
The Kuwaiti army later said it was responding to Iranian drone attacks.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said it attacked a depot of US drones in Bahrain and destroyed Bahrain’s main artificial intelligence centre with ballistic missiles and drones.
State news agency IRNA reported the Iranian navy fired a shore-to-sea cruise missile towards what it called a hostile US vessel in the northern Indian Ocean. Iran’s army said the missile launch caused “fear and panic” and forced the vessel to move out of range of Iran’s navy.