US strikes Iran as Israel warns of widening conflict

The United States launched more airstrikes at Iran on Sunday in response to the killing of US troops, and Iran fired missiles toward Jordan that risked widening the conflict into neighbouring Israel.

Step by step, the US and Iran have returned closer to all-out war as last month’s interim deal meant to permanently end the fighting has crumbled and shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has largely stalled.

Both sides have targeted civilian infrastructure relied on by millions of people.

The US military said the latest strikes targeted Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard to retaliate for Friday’s killing of troops in Jordan. The campaign, now in its second week, has seen the US target bridges, water desalination plants and electrical facilities in Iran. Tehran has hit US-allied countries throughout the Middle East.

Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain again activated air defences for incoming Iranian drones and missiles. Israel warned that missiles launched toward neighbouring Jordan could cause fire to spill over into Israeli territory for the first time in weeks.

The US military’s Central Command said it hit “Iranian military coastal surveillance and air defence facilities, maritime capabilities and missile and drone storage sites.” It said the attack was designed to degrade Iran’s ability to control the strait and “swiftly punish Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces,” a power base in Iran’s theocracy that controls its ballistic missile arsenal.

Footage released by the US military appeared to show strikes carried out by fighter jets and by Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from the sea. One target site appeared to be in a valley of a mountainous region. The Guard often has missile bases and other military equipment tucked into mountain ranges.

Iran’s atomic energy agency said US strikes targeted the construction site of a planned nuclear power plant in the southwest, state television reported.

Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC of the Darkhovin nuclear plant site showed earth clearing but little construction as of July 9. Iran did not previously announce it as being targeted.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said the site, in the “very early stages of construction,” contained no nuclear material when the UN watchdog last visited.

Jordan’s military said it shot down several Iranian missiles. The country hosts major US bases and relies on US air-defence systems. The missiles did not cause casualties or damage, according to Jordan’s military.

Israel’s military said Iranian missiles launched toward the Jordanian port city of Aqaba just across the border could spill over, warning Israelis to expect the first air-raid sirens in weeks.

Eilat, the Israeli city that neighbours Aqaba, cited security officials as saying two interceptors were launched from its outskirts to prevent the fall of debris.

During the latest fighting, Iran has focused attacks on US-allied Arab states rather than Israel, which launched the war with the US on February 28.

Kuwait said one of its power and water desalination plants was attacked for the second time in two days, causing fires. The Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy said the power grid remains stable. In Kuwait, about 90 per cent of drinking water comes from desalination.

The secretary-general of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, Jasem Mohamed al-Budaiwi, has accused Iran of war crimes for strikes on infrastructure and civilian facilities.

International humanitarian law generally protects civilian infrastructure such as bridges and power plants from attack, but such sites can lose protection if used for military purposes. In such cases, attacks must be proportionate and minimise civilian harm.

US President Donald Trump has threatened to target Iran’s power stations and bridges to try to compel Tehran to loosen its hold on the Strait of Hormuz, which saw one-fifth of global oil supplies transit before the war. Recent attacks suggest the US military is carrying out that plan.

The US in the past week reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports to halt its shipments of crude oil. The military on Saturday said it had redirected five ships and disabled one since then.

A maritime organisation overseen by the US Navy said Sunday that the threat to mariners is severe after previous Iranian attacks, “with deliberate hostile action considered highly likely.” It said traffic remained low, with eight transits on Saturday and three on Friday. The daily average before the war was almost 140.

Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, in a statement Saturday, warned of “unforgettable lessons” if the US keeps attacking the Islamic Republic. An Iranian negotiator said Tehran was suspending its commitments to the interim deal and accused the US of violating it.

The halfway point has passed in the 60 days the deal set out to negotiate the permanent end of the war and other issues, including Iran’s nuclear programme.

Since the war began, 16 US service members have been killed and over 430 wounded. Iranian authorities on Sunday said at least 50 people have been killed and 517 wounded in the latest US strikes. Iran has provided no overall information on its material losses.

Far from the region, the war’s effects on the prices of fuel and other goods have hit some of the world’s most vulnerable areas hard.