Iran claimed missile and drone attacks on American facilities in Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain and other regional states, while CENTCOM denied that any US troops had been captured or killed in Syria.
Iranian officials said a missile struck areas near a cancer hospital in Ahvaz as the United States launched another wave of strikes and tightened maritime operations against Tehran. | Reuters via ANI
At least 38 people have been killed and more than 400 injured in the latest US strikes across Iran, according to Tehran, as Washington extended its military campaign into a seventh consecutive night and Iran announced retaliatory attacks on American facilities across the region.
Explosions were reported in several Iranian provinces late Friday. The fresh attacks were followed by one of Tehran’s strongest warnings yet, with a senior military adviser saying Iran could abandon limited retaliation and move into an “offensive and destructive” phase if US operations continue.
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US Central Command said the latest strikes began at 3 pm Eastern Time on Friday and were ordered to further reduce Iran’s military capabilities.
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“CENTCOM launched a round of strikes against Iran at 3 p.m. ET today for the seventh consecutive night. The strikes are designed to continue degrading Iranian military capabilities at the Commander in Chief’s direction,” it said in a post on X.
Iranian media reported explosions in Bushehr, Yazd and Hormozgan provinces. Three blasts were heard in Sirik, while explosions were also reported in Qeshm County.
Iran’s Health Ministry said at least 38 people had been killed and more than 400 injured in US attacks across Hormozgan, Bushehr, Sistan and Baluchestan, Khuzestan and Lorestan provinces.
The toll included three women and one person below the age of 18, according to Iranian state media. Forty-seven injured people remained in hospital.
Iranian authorities accused the United States of striking bridges, power facilities, residential areas, a railway station and the maritime control tower at Shahid Kalantari Port in Chabahar.
Six bridges were hit in Hormozgan province, disrupting routes connecting Bandar Abbas, Bandar Khamir and Lar, provincial officials said.
Seven people were killed and nine injured in Khamir County. Another person died and eight were injured after a residential area in Bandar Abbas was hit, according to Iranian officials.
A branch railway station in Bandar Abbas was also damaged. Two people were injured there.
Officials reported further strikes near Ahvaz in Khuzestan, Bushehr province and the Veysian district of Lorestan’s Chegeni County.
CENTCOM confirmed that US forces destroyed the surveillance tower at Shahid Kalantari Port in Chabahar.
The US military said the structure formed part of an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps network used to monitor commercial vessels in the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian officials said the port’s berths, cargo facilities and other operational infrastructure remained intact. No casualties were reported at the port.
Technical teams were assessing the damage and conducting safety checks before cargo operations resumed, according to Iran’s official IRNA news agency.
CENTCOM said the previous round involved fighter aircraft, drones and warships. The targets included air defence systems, coastal surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure and maritime assets.
More than 50,000 US service members remain deployed across the Middle East, according to the command.
Iran said its armed forces had launched a fresh wave of drones and missiles against US military facilities in Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain.
The Iranian Army said the 14th phase of “Operation Lightning” targeted Al-Udairi Camp and Ali Al-Salem Air Base in Kuwait. It claimed ammunition depots, headquarters buildings and communication links were struck.
The Army also said fuel-storage tanks at Al-Azraq Air Base in Jordan were attacked.
Separately, the IRGC claimed it destroyed a US drone-storage facility in Bahrain and struck what it described as an American artificial intelligence centre.
The IRGC said the attacks were retaliation for US strikes that it alleged had hit transport infrastructure and caused civilian casualties in Iran.
It warned that continued attacks on Iranian transport networks could trigger strikes against industrial, information technology and artificial intelligence assets linked to US companies in countries hosting American bases.
Iran also announced operations against US assets in Qatar, Oman, Syria and the northern Indian Ocean.
The IRGC claimed it attacked Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar and struck American military positions in Kuwait and Jordan. It alleged that US radar systems, refuelling aircraft, fighter jets and a HIMARS launcher were damaged or destroyed.
Iranian forces also claimed attacks on maritime and air-control radars in Oman.
In Syria, the IRGC said it had attacked the US Special Operations Command centre in the Al-Tanf region and captured American personnel.
CENTCOM rejected that account.
“CLAIM: Iranian forces claim they attacked al-Tanf Garrison in Syria and captured or killed American troops in the process. FALSE. FACT: No U.S. troops in the region have recently been killed or captured,” the command said.
Iran further claimed that a coast-to-sea missile forced a US vessel in the northern Indian Ocean to move out of range.
Mohsen Rezaei, military adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, warned that Tehran would expand the scope of the conflict if US attacks continued for another two or three days.
Rezaei said Iran would no longer restrict itself to equivalent retaliatory strikes under such circumstances.
“In the event of activating this strategy, we will no longer settle for retaliation in kind, and no political border will provide security against Iran’s offensive forces,” he said.
He also warned that Tehran could deploy additional capabilities, including ground forces, and intensify its missile and drone operations.
“The United States must wait for expanded waves of missile and drone attacks,” Rezaei said.
He called on people in Kuwait, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar to press for an end to the escalation.
Iranian forces separately targeted a Thai-flagged vessel in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
Tasnim cited a military source as saying the vessel attempted to cross the waterway without permission from the IRGC Navy and failed to respond to warnings.
The United States has said its campaign is intended to weaken Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran has responded with repeated missile and drone attacks against American military positions and facilities across the Middle East, raising the risk that the conflict could spread further across the region.
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