Iranian airport and bridges hit as US forces board ship amid ports blockade – Middle East crisis live

• The US military has struck a number of civilian infrastructure sites across southern Iran, including railway brides and a port facility, according to Iranian state media. The latest US attacks targeted six bridges, a railway station and port control tower, Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported. Iranshahr airport was also reportedly hit.

• Eight people were killed and 20 others wounded in the US attacks across Iran last night, according to the country’s health ministry.

• Iran retaliated by firing on Middle Eastern nations hosting US bases, including Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan and Qatar. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) threatened “more crushing” attacks if US forces continued to attack Iranian civilian infrastructure. The IRGC has said it targeted US radar systems and military aircraft in Qatar to “punish the aggressor”, with Doha saying it had intercepted a missile attack.

• The IRGC claimed to have “targeted American fighter jets and tankers stationed in Jordan”, resulting in “the destruction of several US refuelling aircraft and warplanes and serious damage to many more of them”. The US did not immediately comment on the claim.

• Kuwait’s energy ministry said one of its power and water desalination plants was attacked by Iran, resulting in a fire and damage to the facility. Meanwhile, the Jordanian military said earlier that it shot down three incoming missiles launched by Iran this morning.

• Iran’s strikes “will continue until peace is restored to the southern coastline and the strait of Hormuz”, Majid Mousavi, aerospace chief for the IRGC, said in a statement published by Iranian state media.

• The prime minister of Iraqi Kurdistan, Masrour Barzani, has denounced the “unjustified attacks” on the region that he blamed on Iran. “While urging the Islamic Republic of Iran to stop this escalation, we also call on the Iraqi federal government and the international community to end these violations,” he said in a statement issued by his office.

• The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said it has received a report of an incident off the coast of Oman involving a tanker and military forces in the area. “Reports indicate that the tanker was subject to interaction as part of ongoing military activity in the region,” UKMTO said of the incident, adding that it happened 100 nautical miles (about 115 miles) east of the Omani port of Duqm. It provided no further details.

The US hit bridges, energy facilities and a key Iranian port on Friday, expanding its aerial campaign against Iran, prompting swift Iranian strikes against US allies in the Middle East.

US airstrikes hit bridges in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province, killing at least seven people, Iranian state TV reported. The bridges were a key transit point for Bandar Abbas, Iran’s main port. Further US airstrikes brought down a tower in Chabahar port on the Gulf of Oman, targeted key electrical infrastructure and Iranshahr airport.

Iran’s energy ministry told citizens to reduce their use of electricity and air conditioning after the power grid came under strain due to US strikes on energy facilities. The ministry said areas in the south “are currently experiencing extreme heat and attacks on power infrastructure”, as temperatures in Iran soared.

Strikes on civilian infrastructure not being used for military purposes could constitute a war crime, human rights experts have said.

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The prime minister of Iraqi Kurdistan, Masrour Barzani, has denounced the “unjustified attacks” on the region that he blamed on Iran.

“While urging the Islamic Republic of Iran to stop this escalation, we also call on the Iraqi federal government and the international community to end these violations,” he said in a statement issued by his office.

The Kuwaiti army chief of staff, Khaled al-Shuraian, visited soldiers who were injured in Iranian attacks, the country’s official Kuna news agency reported.

The report does not say how many soldiers had been wounded but stated that they had been targeted this morning in strikes against “several military facilities and camps”.

The Kuwaiti armed forces said on Tuesday that one of its naval vessels was hit during an Iranian missile and drone barrage, wounding four personnel.

In a statement published by state media, Majid Mousavi, aerospace chief for the IRGC, said Iran’s strikes “will continue until peace is restored to the southern coastline and the strait of Hormuz”.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said it has received a report of an incident off the coast of Oman involving a tanker and military forces in the area.

“Reports indicate that the tanker was subject to interaction as part of ongoing military activity in the region,” UKMTO said of the incident, adding that it happened 100 nautical miles (about 115 miles) east of the Omani port of Duqm.

“Authorities are aware and relevant investigations remain ongoing.”

It provided no further details.

Rising oil prices are adding to the market volatility today – Brent crude, the international benchmark, is up 1.8% to $85.72 a barrel, as the US and Iran step up their attacks across the Gulf.

There have also been reports that Iran has asked its Houthi allies in Yemen to stand ready to close a key Red Sea oil route if the US strikes its power network, which would put further pressure on the global oil supply.

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Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps has said it targeted US radar systems and military aircraft in Qatar to “punish the aggressor”, with Doha saying it had intercepted a missile attack.

Abu Baker, a Sudanese resident of Qatar, told AFP had been about to go to sleep when he heard the air alerts, hoping the interception would be out at sea.

“Then it hit and it shook my house,” he added. “I am worried that this war will drag on… but thank God we’re in a country that protects us.”

The IRGC also said they had attacked two US radar sites in Oman as well as the Al-Tanf military base in Syria, which a Syrian military source denied to AFP. US forces said they withdrew from the base earlier this year.

• The US military has struck a number of civilian infrastructure sites across southern Iran, including railway brides and a port facility, according to Iranian state media.

• The latest US attacks targeted six bridges, a railway station and port control tower, Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported.

• Iranshahr airport in the south-eastern Sistan and Balochistan province was also reportedly hit.

• Eight people were killed and 20 others wounded in the US attacks across Iran last night, according to the country’s health ministry.

• Iran retaliated by firing on Middle Eastern nations hosting US bases, including Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan and Qatar. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) threatened “more crushing” attacks if US forces continued to attack Iranian civilian infrastructure.

• Kuwait’s energy ministry said one of its power and water desalination plants was attacked by Iran, resulting in a fire and damage to the facility.

• The IRGC claimed to have “targeted American fighter jets and tankers stationed in Jordan”, resulting in “the destruction of several US refuelling aircraft and warplanes and serious damage to many more of them”.

• The US did not immediately comment on the claim. The Jordanian military said earlier that it shot down three incoming missiles launched by Iran this morning.

Iran’s ministry of energy has issued a statement urging people to reduce their electricity use to help maintain supply to the southern provinces, which are “facing extreme heat and attacks on power infrastructure”.

The ministry has suggested “each family turn off their air conditioners for only one hour during peak consumption hours”, adding:

If each of us makes this small contribution, we can help to better supply electricity to the people of the south of the country by reducing the load on the grid and easing the pressure on the national electricity network.”