US strikes Iran for 12th night as tanker attacks widen conflict
US forces hit Iranian targets again as Tehran, the Houthis and maritime monitors reported attacks from Kuwait and Jordan to Hormuz and the Red Sea.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
4 min read
The United States carried out another night of strikes on Iran early Thursday, extending its bombing campaign to a 12th consecutive night, according to US Central Command and Al Jazeera. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it responded by striking US-linked targets in Kuwait and Jordan, while tanker attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea raised fresh risks for regional shipping.
CENTCOM said at 02:30 GMT Thursday that it had completed its latest attacks on Iranian military targets. The command said the strikes hit maritime capabilities, missile and drone storage sites, coastal surveillance locations and air defence assets, but did not identify the areas struck.
Strikes reported across Iran
Iranian reports described damage and casualties in several provinces. A local official told Mehr news agency that US missiles hit near a passenger terminal in Shalamcheh, a city in western Iran close to the Iraqi border.
The deputy governor of Khuzestan province told Iranian state broadcaster IRIB that two people were killed in the Shalamcheh attack. Local media reported that 11 others were injured.
Al Jazeera’s Tohid Assidi, reporting from Tehran, said overnight strikes hit at least three cities in Khuzestan province, including Ramshir, where an asphalt facility was reported struck. In Hormozgan province, Assidi reported explosions in Sirik, a city facing the Strait of Hormuz.
Assidi also said the governor confirmed an attack in Bushehr on a power substation near the city’s nuclear power plant, causing a power outage that lasted several hours. IRIB reported explosions in Jask, while Tasnim news agency said a US missile landed on the outskirts of Andimeshk.
ISNA news agency, citing Hormozgan’s Ports and Maritime Administration, reported that two naval search-and-rescue vessels were seriously damaged in a US attack in the province.
Iran claims attacks in Kuwait and Jordan
The IRGC said Thursday that it attacked US assets at Kuwait’s Ali Al Salem airbase. It claimed to have destroyed a military equipment warehouse, a Patriot missile defence system and a hangar holding American MQ-9 drones.
In a statement addressed to Kuwaitis, the IRGC argued that its strikes targeted US-controlled areas and said Washington, not Tehran, had violated Kuwait’s sovereignty. Kuwait’s response was not included in the reports.
The IRGC later claimed attacks on US assets in Jordan. It said it destroyed a radar belonging to the American THAAD missile defence system and also targeted a Patriot system, a C-RAM radar, fuel tanks, a helicopter equipment warehouse and a helicopter repair facility.
The IRGC similarly told Jordanians that it did not view the strikes as a violation of Jordanian sovereignty, arguing that the US military presence breached local authority. Jordan’s response was not included in the reports.
Tanker attacks hit key sea routes
In the Strait of Hormuz, the IRGC said an explosion set a tanker on fire after it tried to pass through a southern route off Oman’s coast. Iranian media carried an IRGC statement saying two other vessels turned back after the blast.
The IRGC claimed the three ships were acting under US orders and intended to use a route it described as mined. It warned that the Strait of Hormuz was under its control and said oil tankers would not be allowed to enter or leave while US actions in the region continued.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre said a vessel was targeted 70 nautical miles, or 130km, off the Saudi coast, causing a fire on board. It did not report crew casualties.
Yemen’s Houthis said they carried out a major operation against two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, naming them as the Encelia and the Layla. Saudi state news agency SPA confirmed that the Encelia was hit.
The Houthis said they used cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and drones in the attacks. They described the operation as part of a “siege-for-siege” campaign against Saudi Arabia, accusing Riyadh of besieging Yemen for 12 years; Saudi Arabia has rejected Houthi claims that it imposed such a siege.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.