US Forces Conduct 13th Night of Air Strikes Across Iran

Tensions in the Middle East escalated further on Friday morning as United States military forces completed a thirteenth consecutive night of aerial bombardments targeting strategic assets across Iran. The renewed offensive follows stern warnings from US President Donald Trump, who signalled a potential military campaign of unprecedented scale against Tehran.

According to an official communique issued by US Central Command (CENTCOM), the latest wave of strikes targeted key military command infrastructure, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) storage sites, telecommunications networks, coastal surveillance posts, and facilities linked to Iran’s maritime capabilities.

Washington stated that the strikes were designed to hold Iran accountable and degrade the capability of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to threaten international commercial shipping lanes. CENTCOM added that despite recent hostile engagements in regional waters, the Strait of Hormuz remains open to global merchant traffic under the active guard of American naval assets.

Iranian authorities and state media outlets reported widespread explosions, confirming significant damage and casualties in multiple locations:

• Khuzestan Province: Local officials in the south-western city of Ahvaz confirmed that a targeted US missile strike resulted in at least four fatalities and left five others injured. Further detonations were reported in the nearby towns of Andimeshk and Omidiyeh.

• Southern Coastal Sector: Explosions were documented on Qeshm Island. In the port city of Bandar Abbas, semi-official news agencies reported that two civilians sustained injuries when a missile struck a residential sector.

The IRGC firmly refuted Washington’s claims of operational control over the Strait of Hormuz. In a statement, the force asserted that it maintains sovereign authority over the strategic waterway, adding that safe transit for commercial vessels can only be assured through direct coordination with Iranian maritime authorities.

The military strikes coincided with comments from President Trump during a media interview in which he disclosed that Washington is weighing plans for a substantially larger military campaign against Tehran. The warning followed a surge in Iranian-backed retaliatory attacks against regional partners, including a strike on a telecommunications structure in Kuwait.