The United States and Iran traded fresh attacks across the Middle East on Thursday night, with Washington carrying out its 13th consecutive night of air strikes on Iran and Tehran launching retaliatory drone and missile attacks against US-linked targets in the Gulf, The Guardian reported.
The latest escalation also affected Iraq, where Erbil International Airport resumed operations after a drone crashed near the facility following an attack on the city.
Iran’s army said it had targeted the Al-Azraq Air Base in Jordan, which hosts US forces. Air raid sirens also sounded in Bahrain, while both Bahrain and Kuwait said they had intercepted Iranian missiles.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it had completed its 13th straight night of strikes targeting Iranian military infrastructure. Iranian media reported explosions in several cities, including Khorramabad, Jask, Ahvaz, Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island.
According to Iranian media, a US missile strike near Ahvaz killed four people and injured five others. Additional strikes on Khorramabad and the port city of Bandar Abbas left two people injured at each location.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned what he described as “mindless aggression”, warning that US President Donald Trump would pay a “heavier price” rather than secure a deal to end the war.
Meanwhile, violence also intensified in the occupied West Bank. Four Palestinians and two Israelis were killed in a shootout near the Israeli settlement of Havat Gilad. The Israeli military said it had launched a large-scale operation in Nablus and surrounding villages in response.
The latest exchanges came after Trump vowed “major military punishment” for Iran and its Houthi allies following attacks on Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea. The US military said its latest strikes targeted Iranian command centres, drone facilities, communication networks and coastal surveillance sites to reduce threats to commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
The conflict has continued to widen since the collapse of a ceasefire earlier this month, spreading beyond Iran to attacks on US military facilities and allies across the Gulf. The expanding hostilities have raised fears of a broader regional war and further disruption to global energy supplies and shipping routes. Brent crude briefly rose above $100 a barrel, reflecting growing concerns over the conflict’s impact on energy markets.
