U.S. strikes bridges around key port in Iran, expanding campaign in battle over Hormuz

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said Friday it responded by launching missiles and drones toward several U.S. military bases in neighboring countries, including Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar, which has played a key mediating role in the conflict.

A child was injured from falling shrapnel in Qatar during interception operations, the country’s Interior Ministry said on X. Air sirens were sounded in Bahrain, where authorities advised people to head to safety Friday morning. Kuwait’s water and electricity ministry said one of its power and water desalination plants had been targeted, resulting in a fire and damage to several power generation units.

The Guard said it had targeted radar facilities and two HIMARS missile launch platforms in Kuwait, U.S. fighter jets and refueling aircraft in Jordan. It also targeted the Al-Tanf base in Syria, claiming to have targeted a U.S. Special Operations command center.

NBC News could not verify the claims, and there was no immediate comment from the Pentagon. The U.S. military announced the handover of the base to Syrian forces in February.

The escalation over the strait has seen shipping traffic ground to a halt through the waterway, through which a fifth of the world’s oil flowed before the war.

Daily traffic has dwindled to only a dozen or so ships this week, according to Kpler, after a surge during the ceasefire. On Thursday, just 8 ships transited the Strait of Hormuz, down from 15 the day before.

Tehran, which wants ships to move along a route close to its shores and extract a transit fee, declared the entire waterway closed. The U.S., which was encouraging ships to move closer to Oman to ease Tehran’s grip on the key trade route, reimposed its naval blockade.