The conflict between the United States and Iran has intensified, with both sides targeting critical infrastructure in the Gulf region. Iran has struck infrastructure in Kuwait and Bahrain in retaliation for US attacks on its territory, raising fears of a wider regional conflict.
Iran's Retaliatory Strikes
Iran has responded to US strikes with attacks on an oil facility in Kuwait and a power and water plant, according to authorities in the Gulf state. In Bahrain, air defenses reportedly repelled a wave of Iranian attacks targeting an air base used by the United States.
US Strikes on Iran
The US has been conducting strikes on Iran for seven consecutive nights, with Tehran accusing Washington of hitting an airport, railway station, and bridges. Iranian authorities report that US attacks have killed three people and wounded eight in the southern province of Hormozgan, knocking out 116 telecommunications towers.
In Khuzestan province, the US is said to have attacked 95 locations in 12 cities over the past 10 days, resulting in eight deaths. The supply of drinking water to several villages in the south has also been cut off, with Iran accusing the US of striking power facilities and desalination plant pumps.
The health ministry reported that 50 people have been killed and more than 500 injured since the renewed fighting broke out a week ago. The energy ministry urged citizens to reduce electricity use after the power grid came under strain.
David Khalfa, a Middle East specialist at the Paris-based Jean-Jaures Foundation, noted that a 'widening range of strategic infrastructure' is being drawn into the conflict. He highlighted the paradox that while the conflict continues to escalate, neither side has a strategic interest in allowing this dynamic to continue, yet both perceive any compromise as a form of capitulation.
