US-Iran attacks spread as Gulf shipping slows and Chinese tankers pass
CENTCOM said it struck Iranian military sites, while shipping data showed one tanker crossed Hormuz and Chinese tankers cleared Bab al-Mandeb.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
US-Iran attacks spread into another day as the United States struck Iran for a 13th straight night and Iranian media reported explosions in several cities. The fighting is also hitting regional shipping, with vessel data showing only one tanker crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday.
US Central Command said it finished its latest strikes at 01:00 GMT on Friday. CENTCOM said the targets included Iranian military command centers, drone storage sites, communications networks, coastal surveillance positions and maritime capabilities.
London Stock Exchange Group shipping data showed that two Chinese supertankers carrying Saudi crude left the Bab al-Mandeb strait on Friday. That movement came after Yemen’s Houthis announced a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia on Monday.
Where did the US attack Iran?
Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB reported explosions in Khondab, Khorramabad, Konarak and Jask on Friday. The semi-official Fars news agency, citing the deputy governor of Lorestan province, said two people were injured in an early morning drone attack on Khorramabad.
Mehr news agency reported that US missile strikes hit Andimeshk and Omidiyeh in Khuzestan province, with no casualties or injuries reported there. Al Jazeera correspondent Tohid Assidi, reporting from Tehran, said explosions were heard on Qeshm island in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian media also reported attacks on the port city of Bandar Abbas, saying two people were injured. Tasnim news agency said four people were killed and five others were wounded in a US missile attack near Ahvaz in southwestern Iran.
What happened to Gulf shipping?
Shipping disruptions intensified as the attacks continued. Ship tracking data showed one tanker made it through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, the lowest level since May 7.
The Bab al-Mandeb passage remained closely watched after the Houthis’ blockade announcement against Saudi Arabia. LSEG data showed the two Chinese supertankers carrying crude from Saudi Arabia exited the strait despite that declaration.
Where did Iran say it struck?
In a statement carried by Mehr, Iran’s army said it used drones to attack fuel storage tanks, equipment warehouses and troop quarters at Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain. The army also said aircraft hangars, maintenance facilities and accommodation sites at the Muwaffaq Salti/Al-Azraq base in Jordan were hit.
The Iranian military warned that actions against Iran’s interests would harm regional security and economic stability, according to Mehr. The reported Iranian strikes followed US attacks and came as Tehran continued to target US allies in the Gulf.
What have Trump and Iran said?
US President Donald Trump told Axios on Thursday that he was considering the largest strikes on Iran yet after another wave of Iranian attacks on US allies in the Gulf, including a strike on a telecommunications tower in Kuwait. “I am close to making a decision. We are all set for it,” Trump told Axios.
Trump also wrote on Truth Social that if Iran attacked ships, the US would use Tehran’s frozen assets to pay for repairs. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded on X that using frozen state assets for future claims would set a dangerous precedent.
“Seizing another nation’s assets to pay for unrelated future claims is an incendiary precedent,” Araghchi wrote. He warned that normalizing confiscation would put other governments’ assets at risk and could bring disorder.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.