US and Iran attack infrastructure, raising fears of escalation

The US struck ⁠bridges in Iran, and Tehran responded by hitting a power and desalination plant in Kuwait on Friday, as the two sides risked further escalation by expanding their targets to include infrastructure.

At sea, where the renewed conflict has again cut off energy supplies from the Gulf, US Marines boarded a tanker near the Strait of Hormuz.

Armed men seized another vessel off Yemen, raising concern over security in the Middle East’s other big choke point for oil shipments at the mouth of the Red Sea.

Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported late on Friday that the Revolutionary Guards navy had “targeted” a Thai-flagged ship trying to get through ‌the Strait of Hormuz. It did not give further details.

Washington and Tehran have been testing the limits of escalation since their ceasefire agreement collapsed last week, raising the prospect of a return to all-out war.

US President Donald Trump has threatened to launch broad-based air strikes on Iran’s infrastructure and has also declined to rule out a ground assault on Iran’s coast or islands. US officials have said attacks on southern Iran are designed in part to give Trump options.