US, Iran Trade Strikes for Seventh Straight Night as Conflict Widens
American attacks hit bridges and energy sites deep in Iran as Tehran warns of full-scale war and U.S. troops are hurt in Jordan
The United States and Iran exchanged strikes for a seventh consecutive night Friday, with American forces bombing bridges and energy infrastructure across Iran as the battle over the Strait of Hormuz intensified, according to NPR and Al Jazeera.
U.S. Central Command said it ended the latest round of strikes at 9:30 p.m. ET Friday, saying the operation was meant to further degrade Iran's armed forces, the Washington Examiner reported. Al Jazeera reported the bombing cut water supplies to villages in southern Iran, and the BBC reported that Iran said explosions were heard near the Strait of Hormuz, the vital oil-shipping route through which roughly a fifth of the world's oil passes.
Al Jazeera's Mike Hanna said the targets of the latest strikes signal a strategic shift, with the American campaign broadening deeper into Iran's interior rather than staying confined to border areas.
The escalation has spread beyond Iran's borders. Iranian attacks on at least two U.S. military bases in Jordan this week injured several American service members, though the extent of the injuries was unclear, The Hill reported, citing CBS News. Both Washington and Amman have reported no fatalities.
Iranian officials showed no sign of backing down. Mohsen Rezaee, a senior Iranian official, said the era of negotiating during wartime was over and warned that if the United States continued bombing Iran, Tehran would escalate its response into full-scale war, according to Al Jazeera.
The exchange marks one of the most sustained direct military confrontations between the two countries in years, with American strikes now reaching into Iran's interior and raising the stakes for regional stability, U.S. forces stationed nearby and global oil markets.
— Compiled from reporting by NPR, the BBC, Al Jazeera and the Washington Examiner.