Irbil (Iraq): Drones carrying explosives targeted a city in northern Iraq where US forces are stationed, and sirens rang out in Bahrain on Friday, hours after the American military said it finished its 13th night of strikes against Iran.
The conflict has flared again over the past week, as the US pounded Iran while Tehran attacked ships in the Strait of Hormuz and targeted US assets and allies in the region.
The strait, which is a crucial passage for the world’s energy supplies, is at the centre of the latest fighting since Iranian attacks can effectively shut the waterway, sending fuel prices soaring worldwide and causing widespread economic turmoil. The Iranian-allied Houthis added further pressure this week by targeting two Saudi tankers in the Red Sea, making good on a threat to cut off an alternative route for the region’s oil.
Despite the war’s unpopularity – and its widespread damage to Iran and the global economy – the latest round of fighting has no clear off-ramp. The Iranian Health Ministry says 3,434 people have been killed since the war began.
The US and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28 and have offered shifting goals for the war, including toppling Tehran’s government and eliminating its nuclear programme. But the conflict has devolved into a fight for control of the strait – with Iran apparently hoping to win concessions by inflicting damage on the global economy.
US-led forces shot down five explosive-laden drones Friday over Irbil, according to security officials in northern Iraq. No injuries or damage were reported.
Flights continued as normal at the airport, the state-run Iraqi News Agency reported, citing the facility’s director. US military officials in Iraq did not respond to a request for comment.
A small contingent of US military advisers is based in Iraq, many of them in Irbil
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard urged people in neighbouring countries to stay away from bases with American troops. The Guard said it had targeted the US base in Udairi, Kuwait, setting ablaze three ammunition and storage sheds and destroying them. It also claimed to have struck a watchtower for the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain, which it said was damaged.
US Central Command did not respond to inquiries about the claims. Bahrain said it intercepted and shot down Iranian aerial attacks on Friday, but did not say if there were any casualties or damage.
Jordan’s armed forces said they had downed seven Iranian missiles and six drones on Friday.
US strikes hit a Revolutionary Guard naval base in northern Iran, the semiofficial news outlets Fars and ISNA reported. Blasts from US bombardment overnight were also reported on Iran’s Qeshm Island, a base for naval assets including drone boats that Iran can use to attack vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, as well as in Isfahan province, home to a major Iranian air base and one of Iran’s nuclear sites.
