DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United States intensified its airstrike campaign targeting Iran early Friday. The action involved destroying more bridges and toppling a tower at a significant Iranian port. This forms part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s strategy to exert pressure on Tehran to relinquish its control over the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran responded with missile attacks directed at U.S.-allied nations in the Middle East, including Qatar, a crucial intermediary in the conflict. The interim ceasefire, which had been agreed upon last month, has disintegrated. This collapse has led to a continuous exchange of attacks between the U.S. and Iran as they struggle for dominance over the strait.
Iranian authorities report that U.S. strikes have resulted in dozens of fatalities and numerous injuries, with fresh casualties emerging from Friday’s strikes. Following the U.S. and Israel’s initiation of war on Iran on Feb. 28, Tehran effectively closed the strait to shipping traffic, causing oil prices to rise sharply and granting Iran substantial negotiation leverage.
Bridges and Port Tower Targeted in Iran
Speaking during a primetime address to the American public, Trump claimed the war is progressing favorably. “We are likewise winning big in Iran, and you will see the fruits of that labor very shortly,” Trump asserted.
U.S. airstrikes targeted bridges overnight into Friday within Iran’s southern Hormozgan province, resulting in at least seven deaths, according to Iranian state television. The attacks focused on Bandar Khamir, a coastal city in Iran on the Strait of Hormuz.
The strikes on highway and railway bridges aimed to sever connections between Bandar Abbas, Iran’s primary port, and roads linking the Islamic Republic’s central region to Tehran. Though alternative routes remain accessible, potential expansion of U.S. strikes could disrupt both military materiel transport and essential goods for Iran’s population of 90 million.
According to the U.S. military’s Central Command, dozens of targets were struck in the latest airstrikes, concluding at dawn on Friday—marking the sixth consecutive night of American attacks. The strikes also demolished a tower at Iran’s Chabahar port on the Gulf of Oman, a vital trade path for Afghanistan, as reported by the state-run IRNA news agency.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared an image of the surveillance tower’s collapse, aiming to assert American control over the strait. Activists had already circulated the image on social media prior to Hegseth’s dissemination. Chabahar port, operated by Iran with support from India, has been repeatedly targeted by American airstrikes. Iranian state media acknowledged a third series of strikes on the site without promptly commenting on the tower’s collapse.
Iran characterized the tower as overseeing commercial traffic into the port. However, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard also operates across various ports nationwide.
Iran’s Retaliation Targets Qatar, a Mediator in the Conflict
On Friday, Qatar issued two warnings for the public to seek shelter due to a volley of Iranian missiles targeting the nation. Explosions were heard overhead as air defenses engaged to intercept the missiles. Qatar’s Interior Ministry reported that falling debris injured a child.
Qatar, along with Pakistan, plays a vital role in negotiating an end to the Iran conflict. However, discussions have stalled because of Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz.
In addition to Qatar, Iran also targeted Bahrain and Kuwait early Friday. Jordan’s military intercepted three incoming missiles launched by Iran on Friday morning.
Explosions were audible on Friday morning in Irbil and Sulaymaniyah within northern Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region as air defenses addressed incoming attacks. No immediate information on damages was available.
Strikes Aimed at Controlling Strait of Hormuz
Trump reiterated his threats to target Iranian power stations and bridges recently, aiming to coerce Iran into relaxing its control over the strait. Approximately one-fifth of global oil and natural gas trade historically passed through the strait in peacetime. The U.S. has also reinstated a naval blockade on Iranian ports to stop crude oil shipments.
According to maritime data firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence, weekly cargo shipments through the strait decreased by nearly 25% at the beginning of the month. This drop happened prior to the latest escalation in reciprocal attacks. Due to the dangers, some oil shippers navigate the strait with their location devices off, while others remain stationary, Lloyd’s reported Thursday.
An increasing share of regional energy is being transported via pipelines, albeit not sufficiently to make up for the decline in strait shipments.
U.S. forces redirected three commercial vessels attempting to breach the blockade, disabled one vessel that did not comply, and boarded another “to ensure full compliance,” according to a post on X by the U.S. military’s Central Command.
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Associated Press writers Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, Annika Wolters in Rayong, Thailand, and Stella Martany in Irbil, Iraq, contributed to this report.