US and Iran attack infrastructure, raising fears of escalation

DUBAI/CAIRO - The United States struck bridges in Iran, and Tehran responded by hitting a power and desalination plant in Kuwait on July 17, as the two sides risked further escalation by expanding their targets to include infrastructure.

At sea, where the renewed conflict has again cut off energy supplies from the Gulf, US Marines boarded a tanker near the Strait of Hormuz.

Armed men seized another vessel off Yemen, raising concern over security in the Middle East’s other big choke point for oil shipments at the mouth of the Red Sea.

Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported late on July 17 that the Revolutionary Guards navy had “targeted” a Thai-flagged ship trying to get through the Strait of Hormuz.

It did not give further details.

Washington and Tehran have been testing the limits of escalation since their ceasefire agreement collapsed last week, raising the prospect of a return to all-out war.

After reports of the escalation on July 17, benchmark Brent crude oil prices climbed 3 per cent and were on track for a third consecutive weekly gain, putting political pressure on US President Donald Trump ahead of November congressional elections.

Trump has threatened to launch broad-based air strikes on Iran’s infrastructure and has also declined to rule out a ground assault on Iran’s coast or islands.

US officials have said attacks on southern Iran are designed in part to give Trump options. Such moves risk provoking Iran to escalate in turn by hitting the vital infrastructure of vulnerable Gulf states, or having its allies in Yemen further disrupt global energy supplies by attacking shipping from the Red Sea.

Mohsen Rezaei, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, warned on July 17 against US escalation or any attempt to seize Iranian territory.

“If US strikes continue for several more days, we will move into a phase of full-scale offensive operations,” Rezaei, a former Revolutionary Guards top commander, told state television.

UN concerned over attacks on civilian infrastructure

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was concerned about the escalation, particularly over “attacks on civilian infrastructure in Iran and across the region,” his spokesperson said.

The US military’s Central Command earlier said its targets included “military logistics infrastructure”, the first time it mentioned infrastructure in more than a week. In the latest strikes, Central Command said it reinitiated attacks on Iran for the seventh consecutive night with strikes at 3pm EDT (3am on July 18 in Singapore) or 10.30pm in Tehran.

“The strikes are designed to continue degrading Iranian military capabilities at the Commander in Chief’s direction,” the statement on X said.

Shortly thereafter, Iranian media reported explosions heard or strikes carried out in the cities of Sirik, Ahvaz and Yazd.

Iranian state media previously said at least five bridges were struck in the south. Seven people were reported killed in attacks on bridges in the southern port of Bandar Khamir, where the train station was also hit. An airport was reported hit further east and away from the coast in Iranshahr, in a province bordering Pakistan.

Videos verified by Reuters showed rubble, broken railings and a damaged vehicle on a smashed bridge in Bandar Khamir. One clip showed a fire.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that three villagers were killed while crossing the Bandar Khamir Bridge, adding that Iran would not allow their blood “to be in vain.”

Iran announced attacks on Gulf countries that host US airbases, including Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait, in addition to a US vessel in the northern Indian Ocean.

The Iranian navy fired a shore-to-sea cruise missile towards what it called a hostile US vessel in the northern Indian Ocean, state news agency IRNA reported on July 17.

Iran’s army said the missile launch caused “fear and panic” and forced the vessel to move out of range of Iran’s navy.

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.

The rich Arab Gulf states depend on plants that produce electricity and remove salt from seawater to make their desert cities habitable. When Iran hit a Kuwaiti desalination plant on March 30, it was seen as a major escalation.

Kuwait’s army said shrapnel caused material damage at several locations but no casualties while Kuwaiti troops were wounded in Iranian drone strikes on army facilities.

The country had faced ballistic missile and drone attacks since dawn, and the military intercepted them, the army said.

June’s interim agreement to end the war has collapsed since 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. REUTERS