US and Iran Exchange Strikes for Seventh Night as Both Sides Trade Claims
The United States military confirmed it carried out strikes on Iranian targets for a seventh consecutive night, following President Donald Trump's declaration that the temporary ceasefire agreement was over. The US Central Command (Centcom) stated that the strikes aim to degrade Iranian military capabilities under the direction of the Commander in Chief.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) reported that two oil tankers exploded in the Strait of Hormuz after passing through a mined section of the waterway. Centcom later dismissed this claim as false, posting on X: 'Like most IRGC claims, this is false.'
Iranian media also reported explosions in the central city of Yazd, Qeshm Island, and the port of Bandar Abbas near the strait. The state-run Fars news agency said two tankers 'exploded and caught fire while passing through a mined route south of the Strait of Hormuz.'
Shipping traffic in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries about one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, has largely halted due to the continuing tit-for-tat strikes.
On Friday, Iran's armed forces claimed to have attacked multiple US military facilities across the Gulf region in Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, and Syria—a claim the US denied. However, Kuwaiti officials reported that Iranian drone strikes injured several soldiers and damaged a power plant and water desalination stations.
CBS News, citing sources, reported that several American service members were injured in Iranian attacks on two Jordanian bases over the past week. Washington denied Tehran's earlier claims that its forces hit civilian infrastructure in Iran, including bridges, a train station, and an airport. Authorities in Hormozgan province said seven people were killed in those attacks.
BBC Verify and BBC Persian verified footage of damage to the Gariveh Bridge, showing a ball of flames on top of it in night videos and a crumbled stretch of road with rubble in daylight images. A White House spokesperson told the BBC that the US 'carried out strikes exclusively on military targets, including military logistics infrastructure.'
Friday marked one week of nightly US attacks since peace talks with Iran collapsed, with tensions over the future of the Strait of Hormuz hampering efforts to broker a permanent ceasefire.
