Iran targets US Gulf bases as Strait of Hormuz crisis deepens

Irbil,UPDATED: Jul 25, 2026 00:18 IST

Iran targeted American positions around the Persian Gulf on Friday, while the US struck Iranian military sites, as the two sides showed no sign of stepping back after a 13th straight night of attacks. With the fighting intensifying and diplomacy appearing to stall, both sides made moves that suggested the conflict could widen further.

US embassies in the Middle East began warning Americans in the region that options to leave could become more limited. Iran's Revolutionary Guard, meanwhile, advised people in neighbouring countries to stay away from bases hosting US troops. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran "will not bow to US" bullying and pointed to talks with China and Russia. He told the semi-official Tasnim news agency that the Islamic Republic is "neither intimidated by threats nor will we yield to pressure."

At the centre of the conflict is the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global energy supplies that has been effectively shut by Iranian attacks, pushing up fuel prices and unsettling economies. In Irbil in northern Iraq, where American military advisers are based, security officials said US-led forces shot down five explosive-laden drones on Friday. Repeated blasts were heard in the city, and black smoke was seen near its airport, where US forces are based. US military officials did not respond to requests for comment.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it had targeted the US base in Udairi, Kuwait, and destroyed three ammunition and storage sheds. It also said it struck a watchtower at the US Navy's Fifth Fleet base in Bahrain, causing damage. US Central Command did not respond to questions on those claims. Bahrain and Jordan both said they had intercepted Iranian aerial attacks on Friday.

As attacks were aimed at US and allied bases in the region, the US struck a Revolutionary Guard naval base in northern Iran, according to the semi-official Fars and ISNA news agencies. Blasts from US strikes were also reported on Iran's Qeshm Island, where Iran keeps naval assets including drone boats that can be used to attack shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, and in Isfahan province, which has a major Iranian air base and one of Iran's nuclear sites. Additional strikes were also reported in Khuzestan in the southwest and Fars in the south.

Central Command said the latest strikes were meant to "further degrade Iran's ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters" as the US tries to regain control over the strait, through which one-fifth of the world's oil and gas moved in peacetime.

Iran's ability to shut the strait has given it significant leverage in any negotiations, and its Houthi allies added to that pressure by targeting two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea on Thursday. The attacks followed the Houthis' threat to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Saudi-linked shipping. The waterway, at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, and about 12 per cent of world trade, including one-fourth of global container traffic, passes through it. The route has become even more important for Saudi Arabia, which has diverted millions of barrels of oil a day to avoid the Strait of Hormuz.

US President Donald Trump has threatened "major military punishment" against the Houthis if attacks on ships continue. Brent crude, the international benchmark, eased slightly on Friday to about USD 96 a barrel, but remained well above its level of about USD 72 before the war began. In the US, average petrol prices rose to USD 4.11 a gallon, according to AAA.

The human cost of the war also continued to mount. Iran's Health Ministry said 3,434 people had been killed since the conflict began. The Maritime Organisation said at least 6,000 mariners were stranded on about 400 vessels around the Strait of Hormuz. UN human rights chief Volker Trk called for "urgent action" to help them. His office said the seafarers were exposed to the fighting, and some had been abandoned by ship owners, leaving them to "fend for themselves without food, water, fuel, medical care, electricity or means to communicate with their families."

There were no public signs of progress in efforts to end the fighting. Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who has played a major role in earlier negotiations, met Araghchi on Friday. But before the meeting, Araghchi appeared to dismiss further mediation, saying he did not think the conflict needed more mediators and insisting that the US must change its position. The US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28 and have since put forward shifting war aims, including toppling Tehran's government and ending its nuclear programme.

Israel has also indicated in recent days that it is ready to re-enter the conflict. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said he would travel to the US next week to meet Trump. With attacks continuing across the region, shipping under pressure and no diplomatic breakthrough in sight, the conflict remained tense on Friday.

With PTI Inputs

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