The US military carried out a wave of strikes against Iran for the sixth consecutive night, according to US Central Command (Centcom). These actions are part of an ongoing battle for control of the Strait of Hormuz.
Centcom stated that the attacks were designed to "further degrade Iranian military capabilities." The command also reported boarding a vessel as part of its blockade of Iranian ports.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) claimed to have retaliated by striking US maritime surveillance radar sites in Oman, as well as targets in Kuwait and Bahrain. The IRGC also asserted they attacked a US special operations command center in Syria near the border with Jordan, a move they described as retaliation for the killing of Iranian soldiers two days prior. Neither Syria nor the US has commented on this claim.
On Friday, Jordan's military announced it had shot down three Iranian missiles, reporting no casualties or damage. In Iraqi Kurdistan, eight people were killed and several injured in Sulaymaniyah early Friday morning, according to reports from Kurdish news agency Rudaw and Agence France Press. Kurdish forces attributed the attack to Iran.
Separately, Kurdish forces reported that eight drones were shot down over the city of Erbil, with no casualties. The Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway off Iran's coast, has remained closed amid the escalating attacks. Tehran had effectively blocked the strait in response to US-Israeli strikes.
The disruption to the Strait of Hormuz has impacted oil flow from the region. Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, expressed concerns about global energy supplies, stating, "We should be worried, and I am worried, if the situation does not improve in the next few weeks."
On Friday, the foreign ministers of China and Pakistan called for the US and Iran to cease hostilities and resume negotiations.
US overnight strikes also occurred near the island of Qeshm and in the southern coastal cities of Bandar Abbas and Bushehr, the latter being the location of a nuclear power plant. Earlier in the week, US President Donald Trump had threatened to strike Iranian bridges and power plants if the country did not re-engage in talks.
In April, after Trump stated the US would bomb civilian infrastructure in Iran, UN human rights chief Volker Türk commented that "deliberately attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure is a war crime."
Iranian state news agency IRNA reported that seven people were killed in the strikes. Since fighting resumed with the US, Iran's health ministry stated that at least 38 people have been killed and over 400 injured in the country.
Centcom also reported that US Marines boarded an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman as part of the renewed US blockade of Iranian ports, which began Tuesday night. The command added that it had "redirected 3 commercial vessels trying to run the blockade."
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported on Friday that a tanker was hit by an unknown projectile on Thursday while sailing near Khasab, Oman. All crew members were reported safe.
Centcom noted that under its previous blockade of Iranian ports, from April 13 to June 18, US forces disabled nine ships and redirected more than 140.
Regarding diplomacy, a US official stated, "The president will hold them accountable when they turn their back on the words that they state to the United States. But he is always open to diplomacy at the very same time." Iran's top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said on Wednesday that Tehran had "no reason" to adhere to any agreement that did not benefit the country, adding that Iran's national security depended on maintaining "Iranian arrangements" in the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, President Trump praised Iran on Wednesday for freeing Dena Karari, a US detainee he said had been "wrongfully detained" in December 2024. Trump wrote on Truth Social, "The United States of America appreciates this gesture of Goodwill by Iran!" Karari's attorney, Jared Genser, confirmed she was en route back to the US. However, Iran's judiciary stated on Thursday, according to Iranian state media, that no US prisoner had been released or exchanged from its prisons.
