U.S. Strikes Batter Southern Iran as Death Toll Climbs, Oil Markets Rattle
Sixth straight night of American attacks hits airport, rail lines and bridges; blockade and Strait of Hormuz standoff threaten global energy supplies
U.S. warplanes struck an airport, a rail station and bridges across southern Iran overnight, marking a sixth consecutive night of American attacks. Iran's health ministry said the campaign has now killed 38 people and injured more than 400, according to the Guardian and Al Jazeera.
Iranshahr airport, a southern rail station and two bridges were hit, Iranian media reported. Hossein Kermanpour, a spokesman for Iran's health ministry, said on social media that 22 women and nine children were among the injured, the Guardian reported.
The strikes come after a monthlong ceasefire collapsed and both countries resumed fighting for control of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital corridor for global oil shipments, PBS NewsHour reported. Iran has called any American or Israeli control of the strait a "red line."
The widening conflict carries direct consequences for American pocketbooks. Oil prices rose Friday as traders weighed Iran's threats to retaliate if President Trump orders strikes on the country's critical infrastructure, CNBC reported. Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, said "oil security is still a critical issue" and that the world should be "worried" if the standoff does not ease, according to Al Jazeera.
As part of a renewed U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports, Marines boarded the tanker M/T Wen Yao in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday "to ensure full compliance," U.S. Central Command said, according to the Guardian.
The fighting has spilled beyond Iran's borders. Debris from intercepted Iranian strikes sparked fires along the Kuwait-Iraq border, sending thick smoke into the sky, Al Jazeera reported. Qatar separately rejected Israeli media reports claiming it had agreed to participate in military action against Iran.
The United Nations' top maritime official has warned that the conflict is driving up shipping costs and putting seafarers passing through the strait at risk, according to PBS NewsHour.
— Compiled from reporting by the Guardian, Al Jazeera, CNBC and PBS NewsHour.