US launches fresh strikes as Iran says civilian infrastructure targeted
By BBC, July 17, 2026The US launched a wave of strikes against Iran for the sixth night in a row, its military said, as the two sides battled over control of the Strait of Hormuz.
US Central Command (Centcom) said the attacks were intended to “further degrade Iranian military capabilities”, before saying it had boarded a vessel as part of its blockade of Iranian ports.
State media reported that the US had hit civilian infrastructure, including bridges, a train station and an airport. The BBC has verified an attack on one bridge to the west of Bandar Abbas in Hormozgan province.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) say they have retaliated by striking US maritime surveillance radar sites in Oman as well as targets in Kuwait and Bahrain. They also claim to have attacked a US special operations command centre in Syria.
The IRGC said the surprise attack at al-Tanf in Syria, near the border with Jordan, was in retaliation for the killing of Iranian soldiers two days ago. Neither Syria nor the US have commented on the claim.
Later on Friday, Jordan’s military said it shot down three Iranian missiles with no casualties or damage reported.
8 killed, several injured in Sulaymaniyah
Meanwhile in Iraqi Kurdistan, eight people were killed and several injured in the city of Sulaymaniyah in the early morning, according to Kurdish news agency Rudaw and Agence France Press news agency. Kurdish forces blamed the attack on Iran.
Separately, Kurdish forces said eight drones were also shot down over the city of Erbil, with no casualties reported.
As attacks escalate, the Strait of Hormuz – a critical waterway off Iran’s coast that Tehran effectively blocked in response to US-Israeli strikes – has remained shut.
That has impacted the flow of oil from the region and the head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, says he has concerns about global energy supplies.
“We should be worried, and I am worried, if the situation does not improve in the next few weeks,” Birol said on Thursday night.
On Friday, the Chinese and Pakistani foreign ministers called for the US and Iran to stop fighting and resume negotiations.
The US overnight strikes also hit close to the island of Qeshm as well as in the southern coastal cities of Bandar Abbas and Bushehr – the site of a nuclear power plant.
Centcom did not mention bridges in its list of the “dozens of Iranian military targets” it hit in the latest round of strikes. It said jets, drones and ships had attacked “coastal surveillance and air defence sites, military logistics infrastructure, and maritime capabilities”. The BBC has asked Centcom for comment.
Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump threatened to strike Iran’s bridges and power plants if the country did not return to talks.