Kuwait desalination plant hit as US and Iran escalate infrastructure attacks
Kuwait desalination plant hit as US and Iran escalate infrastructure attacks
The United States struck bridges and energy sites in Iran on Friday, and Tehran responded by hitting a power and water desalination plant in Kuwait, as the two sides expanded their targets to include infrastructure. Read our blog to see how the day’s events unfolded.
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US military launches Iran strikes, redirects ships as part of blockade
US Central Command says the US military has conducted a new round of strikes on Iran, for the seventh night in a row.
In a post on X, it said the strikes, which began at 1900 GMT, were designed to “continue degrading Iranian military capabilities.”
The military also said it had redirected four commercial vessels, disabled one, and boarded another to “ensure full compliance” during the first three days of the new US blockade on Iranian ports.
EU reiterates its call on Israel to refrain from more expansion of settlements
The European Union has reiterated its call on Israel to refrain from expanding its settlements in the occupied West Bank.
“The EU reiterates its call on Israel to refrain from further settlement expansion, the legalization of outposts, land appropriation, demolitions, evictions and other unilateral measures that undermine the viability of the two-state solution,” said a statement from the EU’s diplomatic service spokesperson.
Earlier this week, Israel’s security cabinet approved a budget of 1.3 billion shekels ($427.8 million) for establishing 34 new settlements in the West Bank.
UN bodies, Palestinians and most countries view the settlements as illegal under international conventions and a primary obstacle to peace.
Iran’s Tasnim says ‘Thai-flagged ship’ targeted in Strait of Hormuz after ignoring warnings
Iran’s Tasnim news agency has cited an informed source as saying that a Thai-flagged ship was targeted in the Strait of Hormuz earlier today after it allegedly ignored warnings and attempted to pass without permission from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards navy.
The source said the vessel was confronted by the IRGC navy and targeted.
Gaza health officials say Israeli air strike near market kills 8
Gaza health officials say an Israeli air strike killed eight people near a market in a central part of the territory.
According to the civil defence agency, “eight individuals were killed” at the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
The territory’s Al-Awda hospital confirmed receiving their bodies.
UK police charge man over Iran-linked spying offences
A British-Iranian national has appeared in a London court accused of offering to help Iran’s intelligence service, the latest in a series of incidents involving Tehran and offences covered under UK national security laws.
Vahid Aberi, a 39-year-old from Liverpool, northern England, allegedly approached contacts in Iran with a view to helping their intelligence agencies but failed, after which he wrote to the Iranian consulate in London last year.
Aberi in his message referred to himself as a “humble servant” and asked how he could help his “dear compatriots”, prosecutor Kristel Pous told Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
British authorities then deployed a “role-player” to engage with Aberi, asking him to collect a bag from London which he was told contained a drone.
Aberi was arrested on Wednesday and appeared in court today. He was remanded in custody to next appear at the Old Bailey on August 21.
UK security officials have repeatedly warned that Iran has sought to use criminal proxies to carry out hostile activity in the country.
US military says it destroyed a Iranian port surveillance tower
The US military says it destroyed the Chabahar Shahid Kalantari Port surveillance tower in Iran on Thursday.
US Central Command said in a post on X that the tower was part of a maritime surveillance network along Iran’s Gulf of Oman coastline used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to track and target commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
Strikes kill nine Iranian Kurdish rebels in Iraq, opposition group says
Drone and rocket strikes killed nine members of an Iranian Kurdish armed opposition group in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, the exiled party has said, blaming the attack on Iran.
In Erbil, the capital of Kurdistan, the US-led anti-jihadist coalition shot down several drones in the second such incident in the city this week.
The attacks, which the Kurdish government also blamed on Tehran, come against the backdrop of renewed military escalation between the United States and Iran, Iraq’s main allies.
The Kurdistan region, which hosts US troops and foreign oil companies as well as exiled Iranian Kurdish rebels, has been a frequent target for attacks carried out by Iran and pro-Iran Iraqi armed groups since the start of the war.
Kuwait army says Iran drone attack wounded several personnel
Kuwait’s army says an Iranian drone attack wounded several military personnel in the Gulf state earlier today.
The army’s chief of staff “visited several wounded members of the Kuwaiti land forces, who were injured after enemy drones targeted several army facilities and camps this morning, as part of the criminal Iranian aggression”, the army said, in a social media post.
Iran to continue attacks until strikes around south, Hormuz stop
The commander of the Aerospace Force in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards has warned that Tehran will not halt its attacks in the region until the US stops striking Iran’s southern coastline and the Strait of Hormuz.
In a social media post, Majid Mousavi said “Tehran and the south are one and indivisible as Iran”, adding that “effective and targeted strikes from across Iran against the enemy will continue” until attacks on “the southern coastline and the Strait of Hormuz” cease.
Oil rises on renewed US-Iran hostilities and threat of Red Sea closure
Oil prices have risen by more than 2% today as a result of the renewed fighting in the Gulf, with shipping threatened by a potential Red Sea closure on top of the restricted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude futures rose by $1.77, or 2.1%, to $86 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate futures were up $1.91, or 2.4%, at $80.86.
Both benchmarks have climbed about 13% this week, with Brent on track for a third consecutive weekly gain and WTI set for its second.
The Middle East is a major diesel exporter and the Hormuz closure, as well as attacks on oil refineries, have tightened fuel markets and bolstered prices globally.
Attacks violate Iraqi sovereignty, says Kurdistan presidency
The presidency of Iraqi Kurdistan on Friday denounced attacks on the autonomous region as a “blatant violation” of Iraq’s sovereignty.
“Targeting the region and the resumption of violence are a serious escalation and a blatant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty,” the regional presidency said, after air defences shot down drones over Erbil, the capital of Kurdistan, and strikes targeted exiled Iranian Kurds.
Iran targets US al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar to ‘punish aggressor’
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Friday that they had targeted US radar systems and military aircraft in Qatar to “punish the aggressor”, following overnight US strikes on Iran.
“In continuation of last night’s retaliatory operations, the brave fighters of the IRGC’s Aerospace Force … carried out a heavy and surprise attack on the US airbase at al-Udeid, Qatar, to punish the aggressor and the child-killing US military,” the IRGC said in a statement.
Syria military source denies Iran bombed Al-Tanf base
A Syrian military source denied to AFP on Friday that Iran had bombed the Al-Tanf base near Syria’s southeastern borders with Jordan and Iraq, after Tehran’s Revolutionary Guards said they targeted the facility in response to US strikes.
“We deny any Iranian bombardment targeting the Al-Tanf area,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. US forces said they withdrew from the base earlier this year after troops were stationed there as part of a US-led anti-jihadist coalition.
US continues strikes on Iran while insisting diplomacy still possible
Israel parliament dissolves as it gears up for elections
Israel’s parliament voted to dissolve itself early Friday as the country gears up for October elections, wrapping up a last-minute legislative blitz by the government aimed at pleasing allies.
The vote, endorsed by 62 of the Knesset’s 120 members, clears the way for polls on October 27 in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking another term despite waning popularity.
Electrical and desalination plant damaged in Iranian attack, Kuwait says
Kuwait has said that Iran attacked a power and water desalination plant, causing widespread damage to the station.
In Kuwait, about 90% of drinking water comes from desalination. Any disruption can threaten life in the small, desert nation.
Kuwait’s Electricity Water and Renewable Energy Ministry announced the attack, saying it sparked a fire and “damage to a large number of electricity generation units.”
Kuwait said it extinguished the blaze and was working to assess the damage and get the station working again.
Iran Guards say struck US aircraft in Jordan with missiles, drones
Iran acknowledges ‘attacks on power infrastructure’, calls for people to use less electricity
Iranian officials have for the first time cited “attacks on power infrastructure” while calling for members of the public to use less electricity.
The ministry in a statement urged people to switch off air conditioners in peak hours “to help ensure a stable electricity supply in the southern provinces, which are currently facing extreme heat and attacks on electricity supply facilities”.
The United States expanded its air strike campaign against Iran early Friday by hitting more bridges, electricial equipment and collapsing a tower at a key Iranian port.
People stand near a damaged portion of a bridge after a strike in Bandar Khamir, Hormozgan province, Iran on July 17, 2026. © Social media via Reuters
Strikes kill eight Iranian Kurdish rebels in Iraq, opposition group says
Strikes in Iraq’s Kurdistan region have killed eight members of an Iranian Kurdish armed opposition group, the exiled party said, blaming the attack on Iran.
Idriss Kohlwazi from the Komala party told AFP that “the Iranian regime attacked with drones and rockets a camp” belonging to the party and its vicinity near the city of Sulaimaniyah in the early morning, resulting in the “martyrdom of eight of our members and wounding others”.
Yesterday’s key developments:
- The United States and Iran continued to trade blows for a sixth day on Thursday as the foes battled over the vital Strait of Hormuz despite a call from mediator Pakistan to resume talks.
- The head of the International Energy Agency Fatih Birol said on Thursday that if the US and Iran do not come together to improve flows of oil through the Strait of Hormuz soon the world should be worried about energy security.
- Syria said on July 16 it had foiled an attempt to smuggle weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon by seizing a shipment that included missiles at its border with Iraq.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters, AP and AFP)
So the bottom line is the European Union has reiterated its call on Israel to refrain from expanding its settlements in the occupied West Bank. Wonder how this will land.
The detail about this blog is no longer being updated. Stay with FRANCE 24 for more coverage of the war in the Middle East is something people should sit with.
In other words the military also said it had redirected four commercial vessels, disabled one, and boarded another to “ensure full compliance” during the first three days of the new US blockade on Iranian ports. Curious to see how this develops.
Basically this blog is no longer being updated. Stay with FRANCE 24 for more coverage of the war in the Middle East. What matters is whether anything changes because of it.
So the bottom line is the military also said it had redirected four commercial vessels, disabled one, and boarded another to “ensure full compliance” during the first three days of the new US blockade on Iranian ports. Wonder how this will land.
Reading that the European Union has reiterated its call on Israel to refrain from expanding its settlements in the occupied West Bank — hard to argue with the logic there.
Still waiting to hear what Central Command actually plans to do about it.
Think about it: this blog is no longer being updated. Stay with FRANCE 24 for more coverage of the war in the Middle East. That speaks volumes.
The detail about the European Union has reiterated its call on Israel to refrain from expanding its settlements in the occupied West Bank is something people should sit with.
What stands out is uS Central Command says the US military has conducted a new round of strikes on Iran, for the seventh night in a row. That is the part worth paying attention to.
Considering in a post on X, it said the strikes, which began at 1900 GMT, were designed to “continue degrading Iranian military, it raises some real questions about what happens next.