US-Iran Conflict Escalates with Strikes on Infrastructure and Strait of Hormuz

After a preliminary cease‑fire agreement earlier this month, the United States and Iran resumed intense exchanges of strikes across the Gulf region. U.S. forces have hit Iranian bridges, rail lines, an airport, radar sites and a port surveillance tower, while Iranian attacks have targeted U.S. radar sites in Oman, the Al‑Tanf base in Syria and water and power infrastructure in Kuwait and Iran’s Sirik region, including a drinking‑water plant serving more than 20,000 residents. Jordan reported shooting down three Iranian missiles, and Iraq’s Kurdish forces downed drones over Erbil. Kuwait said a desalination plant was struck, causing a fire and injuries. The fighting has forced a sharp reduction in traffic through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, pushing oil prices above $86 a barrel. Both sides accuse the other of hitting civilian infrastructure, raising war‑crime concerns. The ongoing hostilities threaten to reverse the fragile cease‑fire, destabilize the Middle East and disrupt global oil markets.