Iran War Live Updates: Fighting Intensifies With Strikes on Critical Infrastructure
In the days since the cease-fire unraveled, the United States and Iran have expanded the scope of their attacks, with reports of water facilities and other structures coming under fire.
The United States and Iran expanded the scope and intensity of their attacks on Saturday, striking critical infrastructure sites that included a power station and water facilities, with no sign of an off-ramp to end the fighting.
More than a week after President Trump said the cease-fire with Iran was effectively over, American forces stepped up their assault, targeting “surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities,” according to U.S. Central Command.
The bombardment has failed to break the deadlock over the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway for global oil and gas shipments that Iran has blockaded. The United States has also reinstated its own blockade on Iranian ports. With no apparent negotiations taking place, the two sides appear to be sliding back toward a wider war.
Iranian state media reported on Saturday damage to bridges and roads in the south of Iran, and said that a water desalination plant in Jask was hit. It cited a local official as saying that about 10,000 people were facing water shortages. The U.S. military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on those claims.
Iran has responded with its own attacks on American allies in the Persian Gulf. Air-raid sirens continued to ring out in Bahrain on Saturday morning, warning of new Iranian strikes. And the Jordanian military said it had intercepted 10 Iranian ballistic missiles overnight, without reports of major damage.
On Saturday, Iranian missiles and drones pummeled the Gulf state of Kuwait, where the government said another power and water treatment plant had been attacked — the second in two days — sparking fires. An oil facility was also struck, leading to injuries and “severe material losses,” according to Kuwait’s state-run petroleum corporation.
Kuwait’s Army said late Friday night that several of its personnel had been wounded by Iranian drone strikes on military facilities. Iran’s military has said it is targeting U.S. bases in Kuwait and elsewhere in the region.
Last month, the United States and Iran reached a cease-fire meant to reopen the strait and allow for broader negotiations. Iran, citing a clause in the agreement, has continued to assert control over the waterway, attacking ships attempting to transit through routes outside its territory.
Mr. Trump has frequently threatened to bombard Iranian infrastructure, including power plants and bridges, in an apparent effort to force Iran’s leaders to make a deal and end the war. Analysts say there is little guarantee that stepping up attacks would force Iran to change course.
Bombing critical infrastructure could further disrupt daily life for many civilians caught up in the conflict. Legal experts have warned that, depending on the circumstances and intent, such attacks are potentially war crimes under international law.
Here’s what we’re watching today:
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Lessons from past wars: Mr. Trump has struggled to convert American military might into a strategy that can bring victory in the war he began in late February alongside Israel. It’s a challenge the United States has faced again and again, including in Iraq and Afghanistan. Read more ›
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Rising oil prices: Oil prices jumped to their highest level in a month on Friday as the fighting in the Strait of Hormuz brought shipping there to a halt. Read more ›
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Ismaeel Naar contributed reporting.
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U.S. airstrikes targeting parts of southern Iran have rattled Iranians’ nerves this week, they said in interviews, and destroyed key links between one province and the rest of the country.
Marzieh, a resident of the port city of Bandar Abbas, said that she had heard from friends that the roads around the city had been “devastated.” Marzieh and other Iranians interviewed gave only their first names for fear of government reprisal.
Overnight strikes damaged a tunnel and three bridges, the Hormozgan governor’s office said on Saturday, according to Iran’s state news agency. The government urged residents to avoid unnecessary travel on the roads until further notice. Hormozgan Province, which includes Bandar Abbas, lies along the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian state media reported overnight that at least six areas had been targeted around the country, including Bandar Abbas, but also Ahvaz, the capital of the oil-rich Khuzestan Province about 500 miles northwest of the strait, as well as Lar and Darab, two inland cities in Iran’s southern Fars province. A water desalination plant in the southern province of Jask was also struck, according to Iranian state television. The U.S. military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on those claims.
By Saturday afternoon, some previously damaged traffic routes hit during the last several days of attacks appeared to have been at least partially restored, with Iranian state media reporting that passenger train traffic had resumed from the Bandar Abbas railway station and the opening of an alternative route to the east of the city.
The U.S. military said its overnight strikes had targeted “surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage and maritime capabilities.” It made no mention of civilian infrastructure, though President Trump has frequently threatened to bombard such sites, including power plants and bridges.
Nightly attacks in Ahvaz have become a familiar pattern, according to Emad, a 34-year-old trader there. “That said,” he added, “some people are still frightened by the explosions, especially those living closer to the targeted areas.”
Emad said that as far as he could tell, the strikes had targeted the city’s southeastern periphery, where there are military bases and installations, rather than its center.
Elnaz, a 30-year-old resident of Ahvaz, said Thursday night had been the worst night since the fighting resumed.
Her friends’ and family’s young children “were especially frightened,” she said. “The blast waves were so close that we thought if we stepped outside, we would find the entire city destroyed.”
Since then, the attacks have not been as severe, Elnaz said, but each night is unpredictable.
“None of us knows what kind of attack will happen once night falls,” she said. “We generally know that the strikes are aimed at military areas, but even bombing those locations is enough for the noise and shock waves to reach us and make our whole bodies shake.”
As is typical in Ahvaz during the summer even in peacetime, there are power outages every day, sometimes lasting more than two hours, she said. During power outages, water is also cut off. Temperatures in the city have reached as high as 120 degrees Fahrenheit this week.
While stores in the city are still stocked, Elnaz said, they are largely empty of customers, because people have little money. Iran’s economy, long in malaise, has gotten even worse during the war, with skyrocketing food prices and companies forced to lay off workers.
The war has simply added to Ahvaz residents’ misery, she said, adding, “The situation has become unbearable.”