America and Iran intensified attacks on each other in the Middle East on Friday. Amid the battle for control of the Strait of Hormuz, both countries targeted each other’s infrastructure and military bases. America attacked more bridges and energy sites in Iran and demolished a tower built on an important port of Iran. President Donald Trump took these steps to put pressure on Tehran, so that Iran’s hold on this waterway, which is essential for the world’s energy supply, could be loosened.
In response, Iran fired missiles at America’s allies in the Middle East. These include Qatar (which is playing the role of mediator in the war) and Kuwait. A water desalination plant in Kuwait was damaged.
Struggle for control of the Strait of Hormuz
There have been continuous attacks in this area for several days and this conflict is mainly for control over the Strait of Hormuz. After the end of the temporary ceasefire, there is no clear end in sight to this war that has been going on for more than four months. The US Central Command said late on Friday night that it carried out attacks for the seventh consecutive night with the aim of weakening Iran’s military power.
Iranian officials say that dozens of people have been killed and hundreds injured in the recent US attacks. New casualties were also reported on Friday, and the US military also admitted that more of its soldiers were injured.
Number of ships passing through Hormuz reduced
Iran effectively closed Hormuz to shipping traffic after the US and Israel started war on February 28. Due to this, oil prices increased rapidly and Iran got a stronger position in negotiations. Oil prices rose above $86 a barrel on Friday, near their highest level in a month, according to an international shipping tracker, as the number of ships passing through Hormuz fell to a three-week low.
Political pressure to avoid protracted conflict
Addressing the American public on Thursday evening, Trump insisted that the war is going well. He said that we are also achieving big victories in Iran and you will see the fruits of that hard work very soon. Before the war started, America was negotiating with Iran regarding its nuclear program. Now Trump is under political pressure to end the war and avoid the kind of protracted conflict in the Middle East against which he campaigned.
Attacks on bridges and ‘electricity infrastructure’ in Iran
According to the report of Iranian state television, on Friday night the US carried out air strikes on bridges in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province. In these attacks, Bandar Khamir, a city located on the coast of Iran near the Strait of Hormuz, was targeted. The attacks on highway and railway bridges appear to have been aimed at cutting off Iran’s main port, Bandar Abbas, from the roads leading to the central region of the Islamic republic and from there to the capital, Tehran.
Iran on Friday acknowledged for the first time Friday attacks on electricity infrastructure by US airstrikes, as its energy ministry asked people to use less electricity in southern provinces that have been hit by extreme heat. The ministry did not say what was targeted.
46 people died in American attacks
Iranian officials said that at least 46 people have been killed and more than 400 injured in the recent US attacks. These include eight people killed in the attack on a bridge on Friday. US officials acknowledged that 13 more US soldiers – 10 Army soldiers and three Navy sailors – had been injured since Monday, but did not provide any further details. Since the start of the war, 14 American soldiers have been killed and 427 have been injured.
Important port tower collapsed in US attack
The Central Command said it targeted dozens of military and military infrastructure targets in Friday’s air strikes. According to the report of the government news agency IRNA and later confirmation by the US military, a tower of Iran’s Chabahar port located in the Gulf of Oman collapsed in these attacks. This port is an important trade route for the landlocked neighboring country Afghanistan.
monitoring commercial ships
Chabahar port, which Iran was running with the help of India, has been a frequent target of US air strikes. Iran says that this tower works to keep an eye on commercial ships coming and going to the port. But Central Command says it was part of a maritime surveillance network used by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard to track and target commercial ships in the strait.
Iran targets Qatar
On Friday, Qatar twice warned people to evacuate as Iranian missiles targeted the country. People heard explosions overhead as air defense systems responded to intercept the missiles. Qatar’s Interior Ministry said that a child was injured after being hit by falling debris.
Bahrain and Kuwait were also targeted
Along with Pakistan, Qatar is also an important mediator in the efforts to end the Iran war. Iran also targeted Bahrain and Kuwait early Friday. Officials in Kuwait said that Iran attacked the electricity and water desalination plant, causing heavy damage to the station. About 90 percent of the country’s drinking water is available through desalination.
Kuwait said it had extinguished the fire and was working to assess the damage and restart the station. The Jordanian army said it intercepted three missiles fired by Iran in the air on Friday morning.
Sound of explosions in Erbil and Sulaimaniya
On Friday morning, explosions were heard in Irbil and Suleimaniya, in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, as air defense systems targeted incoming attacks. An official, who declined to be named for security reasons, said that the attack was apparently targeted at the Iranian Kurdish rebel group ‘Komala’, in which at least nine people were killed and several others were injured.
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