US Strikes Bridges in Iran as Tehran Hits Kuwait Desalination Plant, Escalating Conflict That Threatens Gulf Energy Supply Lines

The United States struck at least five bridges in southern Iran on Friday, and Tehran retaliated by hitting a power generation and water desalination station in Kuwait, broadening the scope of a conflict that has already cut off energy shipments from the Gulf and sent oil prices surging.

Benchmark Brent crude climbed 3% on the news and was on track for a third consecutive weekly gain, while global share prices fell and Wall Street opened sharply lower before leveling off. The escalation follows the collapse of a ceasefire agreement last week, raising the prospect of a return to all-out war between Washington and Tehran.

The U.S. military’s Central Command said it had struck “military logistics infrastructure” in Iran, the first time it has mentioned infrastructure in more than a week. Iranian state media reported that at least five bridges were hit in the south. Seven people were killed in attacks on bridges in the southern port of Bandar Khamir, where the train station was also struck. An airport was reported hit further east in Iranshahr, a city in a province bordering Pakistan. Video verified by Reuters showed rubble, broken railings and a damaged vehicle on a smashed bridge in Bandar Khamir, with one clip showing a fire. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, as reported by Reuters, said three villagers were killed while crossing the Bandar Khamir Bridge, adding that Iran would not allow their blood “to be in vain.” Reuters was unable to confirm other reports of deadly attacks, including one that killed a woman and wounded her child in the port of Bandar Abbas.

Iran announced attacks on Gulf countries that host U.S. airbases, including Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait. Authorities in Kuwait said one of the country’s power generation and water desalination stations had been hit in an Iranian attack, causing damage, a fire, and the disruption of a large number of electricity generation units. Firefighters brought the blaze under control, and technical teams began assessing the damage and working to restore power generation as soon as possible, the Kuwaiti Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy said. The rich Arab Gulf states depend on such plants to produce electricity and desalinate seawater for their desert cities. Iran’s previous strike on a Kuwaiti desalination plant on March 30 was seen as a major escalation that helped push the United States to declare the war’s first ceasefire a week later.

Iran said it struck U.S. bases in Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain, as well as a U.S. radar station in Oman. Explosions were heard in the Qatari capital Doha, where the interior ministry said a child was wounded by shrapnel.

At sea, the renewed conflict has again cut off energy supplies from the Gulf. The U.S. military said it had boarded a tanker near the Strait of Hormuz to enforce its blockade of Iranian ports, releasing photos of Marines rappelling from a helicopter onto the deck where one posed in front of an Iranian flag. Beyond the Gulf, armed assailants boarded and seized a small chemical tanker off Yemen in the Gulf of Aden, close to the mouth of the Red Sea. One maritime security source, according to a report by the Associated Press, said the incident appeared related to Somali piracy rather than action by Iran’s Houthi allies. Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported late on Friday that the Revolutionary Guards navy had “targeted” a Thai-flagged ship trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, without giving further details.

Risks of Broader War

President Donald Trump has threatened to launch broad-based air strikes on Iran’s infrastructure and has not ruled out a ground assault on Iran’s coast or islands. U.S. officials have said attacks on southern Iran are designed to give Trump options. Mohsen Rezaei, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader and a former Revolutionary Guards top commander, warned on Friday, as reported by Reuters, that if U.S. strikes continue for several more days, “we will move into a phase of full-scale offensive operations.”

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern about the escalation, particularly over “attacks on civilian infrastructure in Iran and across the region,” his spokesperson said.

The ceasefire agreement that temporarily halted the war last month collapsed on July 7, when Iran struck ships in the Strait of Hormuz and the United States responded with air strikes. Iran has since announced the closure of the strait, and Washington has reimposed its own blockade of Iranian ports. Iran has signaled that it could push its Houthi allies in Yemen to close the Bab al-Mandeb strait at the mouth of the Red Sea, potentially cutting off the main alternative route for Middle East oil that bypasses the Gulf. Sources have told Reuters that Iran has already instructed the Houthis to act if Washington attacks Iran’s infrastructure.