Iran targets American allies in Gulf after seventh consecutive night of US strikes

Washington/Tehran (Web Desk/Agencies): The military confrontation between the United States and Iran intensified further on Saturday as Tehran launched a fresh wave of attacks against Washington's Gulf allies after a seventh consecutive night of American strikes on Iranian military positions, including logistics facilities.

The latest escalation comes only a week after a fragile ceasefire collapsed, deepening fears of a broader regional conflict.

The confrontation also expanded into vital maritime routes, with both countries taking action against commercial shipping.

The US said it had imposed a naval blockade around Iran, while Tehran maintained it was intercepting vessels that failed to comply with its regulations for navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway that carries nearly one-fifth of global oil supplies.

Global energy markets reacted to the growing tensions, with oil prices surging by more than four per cent on Friday to their highest level in over a month. The increase has added fresh political pressure on US President Donald Trump as Republicans seek to retain control during the congressional elections scheduled for November.

Since the collapse of the ceasefire agreement last week, Washington and Tehran have continued testing each other's limits, fuelling concerns that the region could once again descend into full-scale war.

The US military's Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that its latest military operation struck surveillance facilities, underground weapons storage sites, military logistics infrastructure and maritime assets inside Iran.

“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.”

https://t.co/7V8iGAGbGh

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 18, 2026

Iranian media reported on Saturday that multiple missiles hit electricity facilities and desalination pumping stations in the southern city of Jask. Citing a local official, reports said the strikes disrupted drinking water supplies to several nearby villages.

According to the US, its forces redirected four commercial vessels, disabled one ship and boarded another while enforcing the naval blockade around Iran.

Meanwhile, Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed they prevented four vessels from passing through the Strait of Hormuz after accusing them of violating Iranian shipping regulations, saying the operation involved both missiles and drones.

Iranian media, quoting the Revolutionary Guards, also reported that two oil tankers exploded and caught fire after travelling through a mined route south of the Strait of Hormuz. The US military dismissed the report, describing it as false.

Elsewhere in the region, armed attackers seized another vessel off Yemen's coast, raising fresh concerns about security around the entrance to the Red Sea, another key route for international oil shipments.

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, cautioned the United States on Friday against any further escalation or attempts to occupy Iranian territory.

Iran's military also announced that it had carried out retaliatory attacks on US military installations in Kuwait and Jordan following American strikes. The statement, broadcast by Iranian state television on Saturday, detailed the claimed targets.

As per the broadcaster, Iranian forces struck an ammunition depot at Kuwait's Al-Adiri camp, along with headquarters buildings, ammunition storage sites at Ali Al-Salem Air Base and several communication bridges.

The report further claimed that fuel storage tanks at Jordan's Al-Azraq military base were also hit.

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed alarm over the worsening situation, with his spokesperson saying he was particularly concerned about attacks affecting civilian infrastructure in Iran and elsewhere across the region.

For the first time in more than a week, the US Central Command specifically identified "military logistics infrastructure" among the objectives of its latest operation.

Iranian media also reported fresh attacks in Hormozgan Province, located along Iran's side of the Strait of Hormuz. State television said the strikes killed three people, injured eight others and damaged two bridges as well as a road tunnel.

Additional explosions and reported strikes were recorded in Sirik, Ahvaz, Yazd, Jask and Khorramabad late Friday and into early Saturday, according to Iranian media.

On Friday, Iranian state media said at least five bridges in southern Iran had been struck during US attacks. Seven people were reported killed in Bandar Khamir, where a railway station also suffered damage.

Further east, an airport in Iranshahr, close to Iran's border with Pakistan, was also reportedly hit.

President Trump has warned that the US could widen its campaign by launching extensive air strikes against Iranian infrastructure and has also declined to rule out the possibility of a ground assault targeting Iran's coastline 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.