Iran resumed military strikes against US allies in the Persian Gulf on the night of Saturday, July 18, following the seventh consecutive night of US attacks on Iranian military and logistical infrastructure.
According to Reuters, Kuwait sustained a series of attacks that damaged a desalination plant and forced the suspension of operations at Kuwait International Airport due to repeated drone and missile threats.
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The Kuwaiti Ministry of Electricity, Water, and Renewable Energy confirmed damage to a power plant and desalination complex, marking the second such attack on domestic utility infrastructure in two days.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for the strikes, stating it targeted the US military support center at Camp Arifjan and destroyed a radar installation at the Ali Al-Salem Air Base in Kuwait.
Iranian state media also reported that the IRGC targeted the Isa Air Base in Bahrain, claiming the facility housed US combat aircraft, as well as an intelligence gathering center. Reuters noted that these claims could not be independently verified.
The IRGC released a statement characterizing the strikes as a reciprocal response to US military actions and warned regional US allies of potential further attacks.
Concurrently, Iranian media reported that missiles struck energy and desalination systems in the Iranian city of Jask in Hormozgan province, leaving approximately 10,000 residents across 20 villages without water.
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IRGC threatens full-scale offensive
Mohsen Rezaee, a senior IRGC official and military adviser to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, stated that Iran would escalate its military response if US operations do not cease, CNN reported.
“If US attacks continue for another two or three days, we will move to the phase of full-scale offensive operations,” Rezaee said, according to Iranian state media. He stated that no political border would be immune from Iranian offensive forces.
Rezaee also demanded financial reparations from the US for what Iranian officials described as attacks on civilian infrastructure. The US has denied allegations of targeting civilian infrastructure.
CENTCOM confirms seventh wave of strikes
US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed early Saturday that American forces had completed a seventh nightly wave of strikes against Iranian targets.
In a statement, CENTCOM detailed that the strikes targeted surveillance facilities, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and naval forces. The operations utilized fighter aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, and warships.
CENTCOM noted that over 50,000 US military personnel are currently operating in the Middle East.
Strait of Hormuz blockade
The escalating military exchange follows earlier US strikes initiated in response to an IRGC attack on the Cyprus-flagged container ship GFS Galaxy, which resulted in one missing civilian crew member and structural damage to the vessel.
Following the initial US retaliation, the IRGC announced a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global oil transportation, stating no vessels would be permitted to pass until US interventions in the region cease.
Prior to the July 18 escalation, Oman had drafted a proposed agreement outlining a new navigation scheme for the strait. The draft proposed a Southern Corridor within Omani territorial waters allowing free navigation, and a Northern Corridor through Iranian waters requiring prior permission from Tehran.
The military actions coincide with a 60-day negotiation window established under a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding signed in June. US officials have stipulated that a final diplomatic agreement requires Iran to transfer its estimated 410 kilograms of enriched uranium to the US.
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