US Strikes Hit Iranian Nuclear Plant Province as Fighting Enters Second Week
The United States expanded its strikes on Iran into a second week, hitting provinces across the country including Bushehr, home to its only operational civilian nuclear power plant, as Iran continued attacks on US targets in neighboring countries and both sides clashed over control of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran strikes resumed after the collapse of a June truce, with oil prices rising to a one-month high amid the disruptions.
US Strikes Expand Across Iran
The United States expanded its strikes on Iran on Monday, targeting provinces around the country, including a city hosting a nuclear power plant. Attacks hit provinces elsewhere in the country, including in the centre and the north, according to state media and local authorities. All of the provinces hit host military bases and air defence systems. In Bushehr, home to the country's only operational civilian nuclear power plant, governor Mohammad Mozaffari told state news agency IRNA: "A few minutes ago, several locations in Bushehr city were hit by American enemy's projectiles." [1] In East Azerbaijan province in the north, the head of the local crisis management unit, Majid Farshi, told IRNA that "one person was martyred and several others injured" in an attack there. [1] Several sites were attacked in Iran’s Bushehr city, with explosions heard in Isfahan. [5] One person was killed and several injured in the US attack on Iranian northwestern Tabriz city, where the attack targeted a military area southwest of the city. [4] US strikes also hit East Azerbaijan, Tabriz and Isfahan, with targets including military bases and air defense systems. [1]
Iranian Retaliation on Regional Targets
US strikes targeted Iranian military sites in Bushehr province near the nuclear power plant. — Source: gdelt Iran's Revolutionary Guards struck US and allied targets in Syria, Jordan and Kuwait. Iran's Revolutionary Guards announced on Monday that they had hit targets in Syria, Jordan, and Kuwait overnight. In Syria, Iranian forces launched "a surprise attack on the enemy special operations command centre in the Al-Tanf region", according to a Guards statement carried by state media. [1] In Jordan, the Guards said it targeted US military aircraft stationed at Aqaba Airport "with ballistic missiles, causing severe damage to a number of them". [1] IRGC also said they hit US military targets based in Kuwait, including an early-warning radar system that was "completely destroyed". [1] Iran's Revolutionary Guards announced they had hit targets in Syria, Jordan, and Kuwait, claiming destruction of aircraft, a radar system, 20 hangars with US equipment and drones, and other military sites. [2] The IRGC stated that in the Jordanian district of Al-Azraq they destroyed 20 hangars where US army personnel were stationed and eliminated dozens of American military personnel. [2] Explosions were heard near the naval support headquarters in Bahrain and in the emirate of Ras al-Khaimah in the UAE. [2] Kuwaiti air defences were "engaging hostile drone attacks following Iranian aggression", its army said Monday. [1] Bahrain's interior ministry also said that its air raid sirens had sounded and urged citizens and residents to head to "the nearest safe place". [1]
Clashes and Disruptions in Strait of Hormuz
Two oil tankers were hit and halted in the Strait of Hormuz, with one vessel set on fire and abandoned. In Hormuz, sailors abandoned a vessel set on fire in an attack, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency. "The vessel was struck by an unknown projectile. The crew safely abandoned the vessel and have been recovered by a tug boat. The fire has not been extinguished, and the vessel is currently adrift," UKMTO said. [1] Iran's Revolutionary Guards had earlier said that two oil tankers trying to transit the strait "exploded and were brought to a halt", according to a statement reported by Tasnim news agency. [1] On Sunday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on countries around the world to share the burden of protecting global shipping. "It's clear that Iran, at least some people in Iran, want to control the straits and hold that as leverage against the world," Rubio told reporters. "The United States will do and continue to do what it needs to, to protect global shipping, but other countries need to begin to step up and provide, whether it's hardware or finances, to help carry that burden," he said. [1] Data showed only four ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, down from eight ships the day before. [3] On Monday morning, world oil prices rose about 2 percent to exceed US$90 per barrel. [3]
Casualties and Military Updates
The fighting resumed after collapse of a June truce, with 17 confirmed US military deaths since the conflict began and Iran reporting 50 killed and over 500 wounded in recent actions. The fresh fighting came after a weekend in which the US announced three new US military fatalities and one service member missing in action. Two were killed during Iranian missile and drone attacks on Jordan on Friday, while another service member died in northern Iraq during the controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian drone, CENTCOM said. [1] The deaths brought to 17 the confirmed number of American military fatalities since the conflict began with a massive US-Israeli strike on the Islamic republic. [1] On Friday, Iran's health ministry reported that 50 people had been killed in recent fighting and more than 500 wounded. [1] CENTCOM said on Sunday that it successfully completed the ninth consecutive night of strikes against Iran. [1]
Diplomatic Efforts Amid Escalation
Diplomatic contacts continue via mediators while US officials say they remain open to a solution but will protect global shipping, calling on other nations to share the burden. Despite the latest attacks, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said diplomatic exchanges with the United States via mediators were ongoing. "Ideas have been conveyed to us by certain mediators," he told a press conference in Tehran. [1] US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he would "continue to try" to reach a diplomatic solution. [1] Rubio said: "America is always open to a diplomatic solution." [3] Russian concerns were expressed over the nuclear plant strike, with official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova voicing concern about nuclear safety and the prospects of escalation of the conflict in the Middle East after information about the attack on the Darhovin nuclear power plant under construction in Iran. [2]
Context of the Renewed Conflict
The fighting resumed after collapse of a June truce, with 17 confirmed US military deaths since the conflict began and Iran reporting 50 killed and over 500 wounded in recent actions. The US-Israeli war on Iran resumed after a weeks-long lull prompted by an agreement signed in June. [1] The conflict that broke out after the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28—with the aim of crippling Tehran's nuclear and missile program and weakening its allied groups in the region—has killed thousands, especially in Iran and Lebanon. [3] US Central Command said it had begun "a new wave of strikes" aimed at "weakening" Iran's ability to attack merchant ships crossing the strategic shipping lane in the Strait of Hormuz. [3]
What to watch next: CENTCOM has announced it completed the ninth consecutive night of strikes, while mediators continue to convey ideas between the sides and Rubio has said the United States remains open to diplomacy even as both sides maintain blockades in the Strait of Hormuz.
