Doha, Qatar. Iran said it launched fresh attacks on U.S. facilities across the Gulf on Friday after a sixth consecutive night of U.S. strikes on Iranian military sites, escalating daily exchanges that followed last month’s truce.
The U.S. military said it struck Iranian targets on Qeshm Island and near Bandar Abbas, while Iran reported attacks on U.S. facilities in Bahrain, Kuwait and Syria.
U.S. military operations
U.S. Central Command said U.S. forces, including fighter jets, aerial drones and warships, used precision munitions against dozens of Iranian military targets to further degrade Iranian military capabilities.
The targets included coastal surveillance and air defence sites, military logistics infrastructure and maritime capabilities, the command said. The strikes included locations on Qeshm Island and near Bandar Abbas, home to Iran’s largest port and key navy and Revolutionary Guards facilities.
Iranian response
Iran has responded to the U.S. strikes with missiles and drones targeting U.S. military facilities in neighbouring states, including an air base in Jordan.
Iran’s military said in the early hours of Friday that it had attacked U.S. facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait. A witness reported several explosion-like sounds in Doha, while Qatar’s Interior Ministry said a child was injured by shrapnel.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said separately that they had attacked a U.S. special operations command centre at al-Tanf in Syria in retaliation for the killing of Iranian soldiers in Iranshahr, according to state media.
Reuters could not independently verify the claim, and there was no immediate comment from the Syrian government or the U.S. military. The U.S. military said in February that it had completed a withdrawal from the al-Tanf base in the tri-border area of Syria, Jordan and Iraq.
Reported damage in Iran
Iranian media reported that the latest U.S. strikes hit five bridges, the train station in the southern coastal city of Bandar Khamir and Iranshahr Airport in southeastern Iran.
State news agency IRNA reported that seven people were killed in U.S. attacks on bridges in Bandar Khamir. Reuters could not immediately verify the reports.
Syria’s position
Syria has sought to avoid being drawn into the regional conflict affecting neighbouring countries. President Ahmed al-Sharaa said in March that Damascus would remain outside any conflict unless Syria itself came under attack.