Iran says civilian infrastructure hit by latest wave of U.S. strikes

Iran on Friday claimed it had targeted U.S. military forces in Syria and Bahrain, widening its attacks in the region as the U.S. completed its sixth consecutive night of strikes on the Islamic Republic.

The escalating standoff comes as the fragile truce signed by the U.S. and Iran last month showed further signs of unravelling. The interim agreement was intended to reopen the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz and stop the fighting.

U.S. Central Command said overnight that it had completed its latest major wave of strikes against Iran, hitting dozens of military targets, including air defenses, logistics infrastructure and maritime capabilities.

In a social media post, Centcom said more than 50,000 service members were operating across the Middle East, adding that they “remain vigilant, lethal, and ready.”

Iranian state media said the U.S. air attacks overnight had killed eight people and wounded 20, reportedly alleging that American strikes had hit civilian infrastructure, including bridges, a train station and an airport. CNBC could not independently verify the report.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, meanwhile, said that it attacked a U.S. command center in Syria’s al-Tanf region, according to state media. There was no immediate comment from the U.S. military or the Syrian government.

The U.S. military said in February that it had completed the withdrawal of forces from the strategic al-Tanf military base, which sits near the Syrian border with Iraq and Jordan.

Syria has sought to avoid being drawn into regional hostilities, with President Ahmed al-Sharaa telling a Chatham House event in March that the country would “remain outside” the conflict unless it is subjected to direct attacks.

Kuwaiti authorities said Friday that one of the country’s power generation and water desalination stations was hit in an Iranian attack, causing widespread damage.

Kuwait’s Electricity Water and Renewable Energy Ministry said via social media that it had extinguished a blaze triggered by the attack and was working to assess the damage and get the station working again.

Kuwait is known to be overwhelmingly dependent on desalination for drinking water, with almost 90% of the arid nation’s water demand satisfied through seawater desalination plants.

Air raid sirens were activated in Bahrain overnight, with the country’s Defence Force saying it had intercepted multiple aerial attacks from Iran. The alert followed a claim by Iran that it had targeted U.S. aircraft at the Sakhir airbase in Bahrain.

Jordan and Qatar also both said they had intercepted Iranian missiles.

U.S. President Donald Trump has insisted the war with Iran is going well, saying Thursday in a primetime address to the American public: “We are likewise winning big in Iran, and you will see the fruits of that labor very, very shortly.”

The U.S. president had threatened to strike Iran’s bridges and power plants next week if the country refused to return to the negotiating table.

Ian Lesser, distinguished fellow at GMF, a Washington-based think tank, said there appears to be a risk of the U.S. and Iran becoming mired in a so-called forever war.

“There’s a risk of this, but of course we were in essentially a cold and occasionally hot war with Iran for decades,” Lesser told CNBC by video call.

“I think in some sense this is misjudgment by the current administration. But it is also part of a pattern in the American approach to the use of force, that we have enormous capability and enormous operational prowess and we are hobbled by strategic mistakes,” he added.

Oil prices were higher on Friday, firmly on track to register bumper weekly gains.

International benchmark Brent crude futures with September delivery advanced 1.7% to trade at $85.72 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures with August delivery gained 2.2% to trade at $80.63.

Both oil contracts are up more than 11% so far this week and on track for their best weekly performance since late April.