Waves of US strikes on Iran hit week mark

Defense & National Security Newsletter Waves of US strikes on Iran hit week mark Comments: by Ellen Mitchell - 07/17/26 5:34 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Ellen Mitchell - 07/17/26 5:34 PM ET Comments: Link copied

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Waves of US strikes on Iran hits week mark

The U.S. military for the seventh consecutive day launched a wave of strikes against Iran on Friday in what U.S. officials described as efforts to degrade Tehran’s military capabilities.

Morteza Akhoundi, Getty Images Provided

The strikes began at 3 p.m. EDT, U.S. Central Command said, with the military widening its strikes against Iran in recent days, attacking targets across the nation.

The U.S. military struck the southern coast of Iran on Thursday, including hitting bridges around Bandar Abbas, a key port city.

Early Friday morning, the U.S. military hit bridges and energy sites in Iran.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) responded with attacks on U.S. bases in the Gulf region, including in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan.

The IRGC also said it attacked a U.S. special operations command center at the al-Tanf garrison military base in Syria — an assertion that U.S. Central Command disputed on Friday morning.

Iran also has fired back against Persian Gulf allies in the region, firing drones and missiles at Qatar, Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait.

The U.S. Navy has continued to enforce the naval blockade, which resumed Tuesday, with U.S. Marines from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit boarding sanctioned oil tanker M/T Wen Yao on Thursday.

President Trump said Thursday night that the U.S. is “winning” big in Iran and that the American public will see the “fruits of that labor very, very shortly.”

Read the full report at thehill.com.

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