US ends its latest round of airstrikes on Iran, the sixth night in a row,
Oil rises on intensifying US-Iran hostilities and threat of Red Sea closure
Oil prices inched higher on Friday after the US and Iran stepped up attacks across the Gulf, with their broken truce limiting oil flows out of the Strait of Hormuz and with Tehran asking the Houthi movement to
stand ready to shut the Red Sea export route.
Qatar says intercepted missile attack
Qatar said Friday it had intercepted a missile attack, after AFP journalists in the capital Doha reported hearing several blasts.
"The Ministry of Defense of State of Qatar announces that armed forces intercepted missile attack which targeted State of Qatar," the defence ministry wrote on X.
Booms heard in Qatar's Doha, government sends security alert
Several booms were heard in Qatar's capital Doha early on Friday, while a government security alert
was sent to mobile phones, according to a witness.
The cause of the sounds was not immediately clear.
At least 7 people killed as US airstrikes target bridges in southern Iran, Iranian state television reports
Bahrain and Kuwait face Iranian fire as US airstrikes expand to target more bridges
Bahrain and Kuwait faced incoming Iranian fire early Friday as U.S. airstrikes expanded to target more bridges in the Islamic Republic.
Both countries, which host US forces, have faced repeated rounds of fire in recent days as an interim deal to try to end the Iran war has collapsed over fighting sparked by activity in the Strait of Hormuz.
In Iran, the state-run IRNA news agency reported Friday that at least three people had been killed in US airstrikes targeting bridges in southern Hormozgan province.
US expands attacks on Iran, which calls Strait of Hormuz a 'red line' as it retaliates
The United States intensified its strikes against Iran on Thursday, hitting targets farther north and firing into a ship the US accused of trying to break its naval blockade on the Islamic Republic. Iran retaliated by launching missiles and drones at US allies in the region, and warned its attacks may escalate.
The interim ceasefire agreed to last month has collapsed, and the region has endured days of back-and-forth attacks by the US and Iran as they battle for control of the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian officials say US strikes have killed more than 35 people and wounded over 300 others.
For the first time in this latest round of violence, strikes also reached into areas around Iran’s capital, Tehran, showing a widening set of targets for the Americans. The US launched a second wave of strikes late Thursday, saying it was aiming to “further degrade” Iran's military capabilities.
US strikes in Iran hit airport, bridges and railway station
Deadly US strikes overnight hit an airport, a railway station in the port city of Bandar Abbas and two bridges in southern Iran near the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media said Friday.
"Three explosions were heard around the airport and at least one American enemy projectile hit Iranshahr airport," in the southeast, state television IRIB said on Telegram.
"A few minutes ago, the Bandar Abbas Railway Junction Station was targeted by the American enemy. According to this report, two Iranians were injured in the attack," Mehr said on Telegram.
- US strikes hit 'in vicinity' of Iran's Qeshm island, Iranian media reports
- Iran says it targeted US military sites in Jordan
- Iran army says struck US targets in Kuwait, Bahrain with drones
- Iran says Hormuz is a red line, warns of attacks on regional infrastructure if US strikes
- Iran slams 'barbaric' US attack after hospital evacuated due to nearby strike
Yesterday's key developments:
- The United States and Iran continued to trade blows for a sixth day on Thursday as the foes battled over the vital Strait of Hormuz despite a call from mediator Pakistan to resume talks .
- The head of the International Energy Agency Fatih Birol said on Thursday that if the US and Iran do not come together to improve flows of oil through the Strait of Hormuz soon the world should be worried about energy security .
- Syria said on July 16 it had foiled an attempt to smuggle weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon by seizing a shipment that included missiles at its border with Iraq .
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters, AP and AFP)
