- Iranian media reports that desalination pumps were attacked.
- Kuwait says Iran hit desalination and electricity plant.
- The UN is concerned about attacks on civilian infrastructure.
Iran launched new attacks on U.S. Gulf allies on Saturday after a seventh straight night of U.S. strikes targeting Iranian military sites including logistical infrastructure, escalating the war a week after a fragile ceasefire deal collapsed.
Both sides have also targeted maritime traffic, with the United States saying it was enforcing a naval blockade while Iran said it was targeting ships that violated its navigation rules in the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway for a fifth of the world’s oil supplies.
Oil prices climbed more than 4% on Friday to their highest level in more than a month, heaping political pressure on U.S. President Donald Trump as his Republican Party tries to hold on to power in November’s congressional elections.
Washington and Tehran have been testing the limits of escalation since their ceasefire agreement collapsed last week, raising the prospect of a return to all-out war.
The US military’s Central Command said it concluded its latest round of attacks by hitting surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storages and maritime capabilities.
“US forces used combat aircraft, aerial drones and warships in addition to other means,” the central command said in a statement. “More than 50,000 U.S. military personnel operate across the Middle East and remain vigilant, lethal and ready.”
Iranian media reported on Saturday that several missiles hit electrical installations and desalination pumps in the southern Iranian town of Jask, citing a local official. The official said drinking water was cut off in Jask villages due to the attack.
The United States said its forces redirected four commercial ships, disabled one and boarded another to strengthen its naval blockade of Iran.
In turn, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said four ships violating their rules on maritime traffic were prevented from crossing the strait thanks to a combined missile and drone operation.
Additionally, Iranian media, citing the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, reported that two oil tankers exploded and caught fire after crossing a mined road south of the strait. The U.S. military called the report false.
Gunmen seized another ship off the coast of Yemen, raising concerns about security in the Middle East’s other major chokepoint for oil shipments, at the mouth of the Red Sea.
Iranian state television quoted the Revolutionary Guards as saying that until US “aggression” ends, it would not be possible to export chemical fertilizers or even a “single drop of oil and gas” from the region.
Mohsen Rezaei, advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader, warned Friday against any American escalation or any attempt to seize Iranian territory.
Concerns about infrastructure
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern about the escalation, particularly “attacks on civilian infrastructure in Iran and the region,” his spokesperson said.
The US military’s Central Command said its targets included “military logistics infrastructure”, the first time it had mentioned infrastructure in more than a week.
Iranian media reported enemy strikes early Saturday in the coastal province of Hormozgan, on the Iranian side of the Strait of Hormuz. State television said three people were killed and eight injured while two bridges and a road tunnel were damaged.
Iranian media reported explosions heard or strikes carried out in Sirik, Ahvaz, Yazd, Jask and Khorramabad on Friday evening or early Saturday.
Trump has threatened to launch widespread airstrikes on Iranian infrastructure and has also refused to rule out a ground attack on Iranian coasts or islands. U.S. officials have said the attacks on southern Iran were aimed in part at giving Trump options.
