US-Iran War LIVE | US Strikes Bridges In Iran; Tehran Targets US Bases In Gulf In Retaliation

Pakistan on Friday announced that petroleum prices in the country will be adjusted daily to tackle the uneven fluctuation in oil prices triggered by the ongoing conflict in West Asia.

The government had started fixing prices on a weekly basis since the start of the US-Iran war in late February.

Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik made the announcement at a press conference where he was joined by Information Minister Attaullah Tarar.

Malik said that the Cabinet decided to assign the task of fixing prices to the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) -- the country's oil and gas watchdog -- which will decide the fuel prices on a daily basis.

OGRA would “not just publish the fuel rates on its website that are used to determine prices, but also publish the factors leading to the price that we see in each petrol pump”.

The government has been fixing oil prices on a weekly basis but came under criticism for delays in passing on the benefit of low fuel prices to the masses.

The seven-day price adjustment was adopted after the start of the Iran war, prior to which, prices were fixed on a fortnightly basis.

Malik, in his remarks, said the step was part of the government’s decision to make the system more transparent, so that people could understand why increasing fuel prices were inevitable.

He said the daily price announcements will be decided according to a seven-day weekly average in the international market. He added that in another step towards deregulation, prices in the country would be adjusted according to international markets without needing to consult anyone.

Tokyo and Taipei stock markets led a fresh selloff for technology shares Friday, as concerns that the sector had been overbought in recent months intensified. Oil prices rallied, with international benchmark Brent North Sea crude powering above $86 a barrel, as the United States and Iran traded fresh attacks.

"The technology selloff is not the only reason markets are in a sour mood," noted Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote bank. "Developments in the Middle East are getting worse by the hour."

Trade Nation analyst David Morrison said "the ongoing conflict, combined with threats to major shipping routes such as the Strait of Hormuz and potentially the Red Sea, has increased uncertainty across global financial markets."

Asian and European stock markets also took their cue from Wall Street's finish on Thursday, where sharp falls in Nvidia and Amazon helped drag down the Nasdaq by more than one percent.

Iranian strikes on Friday hit a power and water desalination plant in Kuwait, damaging one of the key sources of drinking water in the small desert nation. It's the latest attack on essential infrastructure across the Middle East that have exposed extreme vulnerabilities in one of the world’s driest regions, which relies almost exclusively on technology to produce freshwater that sustains cities, hotels, industry and some agriculture.

Kuwaiti authorities said the strikes damaged a large number of power generation units and sparked a fire. They added that a fire has been contained, and that they activated emergency contingency plans.

In Kuwait, about 90% of drinking water comes from desalination, along with roughly 86% in Oman and about 70% in Saudi Arabia. The process removes salt from seawater, most commonly by pushing it through ultrafine membranes in a process known as reverse osmosis.

Hundreds of desalination plants sit along the Persian Gulf coast, putting systems that supply water to millions within range of Iranian missile or drone strikes. Without them, major cities could not sustain their current populations.

For people living outside the Middle East, the main concern of the Iran war has been the impact on energy prices. Fighting and attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz have upended world markets and pushed oil prices to record highs.

Kuwait's army said that an Iranian drone attack on Friday wounded several military personnel in the Gulf state, as the United States and Iran returned to outright war.

The army's chief of staff "visited several wounded members of the Kuwaiti land forces, who were injured after enemy drones targeted several army facilities and camps this morning, as part of the criminal Iranian aggression", the army said, in a social media post.

The prime minister of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region on Friday denounced "unjustified attacks" that he blamed on Iran and urged Tehran to halt the escalation.

"We condemn the unjustified attacks by the Islamic Republic of Iran against the Kurdistan region," said the office of Masrour Barzani. "While urging the Islamic Republic of Iran to stop this escalation, we also call on the Iraqi federal government and the international community to end these violations."

The commander of the Aerospace Force in Iran's Revolutionary Guards vowed Friday that Tehran would not halt its attacks in the region until the US stopped striking Iran's southern coastline and the Strait of Hormuz.

In a social media post, Majid Mousavi said "Tehran and the south are one and indivisible as Iran", adding that "effective and targeted strikes from across Iran against the enemy will continue" until attacks on "the southern coastline and the Strait of Hormuz" cease.

As the United States continues to hit Iran, and Tehran keeps up its retaliatory actions across the Persian Gulf on Washington’s installations, Pakistan finds itself poised precariously on an agonising geopolitical precipice. Islamabad’s immediate priorities go beyond an effective bulwark against collateral damage.

While prioritising energy imports and remittances, border security along the 900 km Iran frontier, sectarian tensions at home, and playing the potential mediator, Islamabad is getting closer to being a direct party in the war. Such a situation upsets its stand as a neutral negotiator between Washington and Tehran.

Pakistan's Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement with Saudi Arabia has already resulted in the deployment of thousands of Pakistani troops and advanced fighter jets to the Kingdom. That presence threatens to pull Islamabad directly into the crossfire as the Middle East is careening toward an all-out war.

The presidency of Iraqi Kurdistan on Friday denounced attacks on the autonomous region as a "blatant violation" of Iraq's sovereignty.

"Targeting the region and the resumption of violence are a serious escalation and a blatant violation of Iraq's sovereignty," the regional presidency said, after air defences shot down drones over Erbil, the capital of Kurdistan, and strikes targeted exiled Iranian Kurds.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Friday that they had targeted US radar systems and military aircraft in Qatar to "punish the aggressor" following overnight US strikes on Iran.

"In continuation of last night's retaliatory operations, the brave fighters of the IRGC's Aerospace Force... carried out a heavy and surprise attack on the US airbase at al-Udeid, Qatar, to punish the aggressor and the child-killing US military," the IRGC said in a statement.

A Syrian military source denied to AFP on Friday that Iran had bombed the Al-Tanf base near Syria's southeastern borders with Jordan and Iraq, after Tehran's Revolutionary Guards said they targeted the facility in response to US strikes.

"We deny any Iranian bombardment targeting the Al-Tanf area," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. US forces said they withdrew from the base earlier this year after troops were stationed there as part of a US-led anti-jihadist coalition.

Kuwait said Friday that a power and water plant had been damaged by an Iranian attack, as the war in the Middle East escalated.

"One of the power and water distillation plants was the target of an attack as part of the Iranian aggression... resulting in a fire, damage, and the impairment of several production units," the electricity ministry said in a statement, urging users "to ration their electricity consumption during this exceptional period".

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Friday they had struck US military aircraft stationed in Jordan with ballistic missiles and drones in retaliation for overnight US strikes.

In a statement, they claimed to have destroyed "several US refuelling aircraft and fighter jets" and caused "serious damage to many more". They also called on Jordanians to target "the interests of the aggressive and anti-Islamic Americans" in their country.

Iran acknowledged “attacks on power infrastructure” during the U.S. airstrike campaign for the first time Friday when its Energy Ministry issued a call for people to use less power in southern provinces.

It said those areas “are currently experiencing extreme heat and attacks on power infrastructure.” The ministry did not elaborate on whether it was power plants, transmission lines or other equipment that had been attacked.

Such strikes on power infrastructure had been suspected for days. Tehran city councilman Mehdi Chamran told journalists asking about electrical problems on Tuesday, “Just look at how many power facilities they hit … and you wouldn’t be asking that question.”

Iran's health ministry said 38 people had been killed and more than 400 injured in US strikes since June 22. The latest overnight strikes killed eight people and wounded 20, the IRNA news agency reported.

Strikes in Iraq's Kurdistan region killed eight members of an Iranian Kurdish armed opposition group on Friday, the exiled party said, blaming the attack on Iran.

Idriss Kohlwazi from the Komala party told AFP that "the Iranian regime attacked with drones and rockets a camp" belonging to the party and its vicinity near the city of Sulaimaniyah in the early morning.

The attack resulted in the "martyrdom of eight of our members and wounding others," he added. The escalation in Iraq comes against the backdrop of renewed military escalation between the United States and Iran, Iraq's main allies.

During the Middle East war, the Kurdistan region, which hosts US troops and foreign oil companies as well as exiled Iranian Kurdish rebels, has been a primary target for attacks carried out by Iran and pro-Iran Iraqi armed groups.

Even after a ceasefire was announced in April, Iran continued to strike Kurdish opposition groups, which Tehran accuses of serving Western or Israeli interests. But Friday's attack marked the biggest escalation after the ceasefire with these groups having mostly evacuated their bases and camps since the war.

A tanker travelling through the Strait of Hormuz, near Oman, was struck by a projectile early on Friday, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO). The attack caused minor damage to the vessel’s port side, but no injuries or environmental harm were reported, with the ship able to continue to its next destination. The UKMTO confirmed all crew members were safe and accounted for.

Iran has previously targeted tankers along this strategic shipping route but has not commented on this specific incident. The attack comes as conflict between the United States and Iran intensifies, following the breakdown of a month-old ceasefire and a series of retaliatory strikes.

Jordan's military reported intercepting three Iranian missiles that entered its airspace on Friday, stating there were no casualties or damage. According to an official statement, Jordanian air defence systems successfully brought down the missiles targeting the kingdom as tensions in the Middle East intensified.

Meanwhile, the United States expanded its airstrike campaign against Iran early on Friday. US forces targeted additional bridges and destroyed a surveillance tower at Chabahar port, a key Iranian trade hub, fulfilling President Donald Trump's warnings to strike infrastructure in response to Iran's actions in the region. The US aims to pressure Tehran to loosen its control over the strategic Strait of Hormuz. In retaliation, Iran launched new missile attacks against several Gulf countries and Jordan, further escalating the conflict. The exchange of strikes highlights the growing volatility in the region, with both sides targeting critical infrastructure and responding with military force.

US airstrikes struck targets in Iran's southern Hormozgan province overnight, killing at least seven people, according to Iranian state television. The attacks hit bridges in Bandar Khamir, a coastal city on the Strait of Hormuz, and marked the sixth consecutive night of American strikes. US Central Command stated that it targeted dozens of sites and concluded operations at dawn on Friday.

The airstrikes also caused the collapse of a surveillance tower at Iran's Chabahar port on the Gulf of Oman, a vital trade hub for Afghanistan. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth posted an image of the fallen tower, which had already circulated on social media. Chabahar port, operated by Iran with Indian support, has been repeatedly targeted by American forces. Iranian media confirmed a third round of attacks on the port but did not initially address the tower’s destruction. While Iran claimed the tower oversaw commercial activity, the Revolutionary Guard is also active at national ports.

The White House has accused Iran of violating a memorandum of understanding with the United States by attacking commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, saying President Donald Trump authorised renewed military strikes because Tehran had failed to honour its commitments despite continuing to express interest in negotiations.

Speaking at the White House daily briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Iran had breached a key provision of the agreement by firing on commercial vessels, prompting the administration to respond militarily."I've spoken with the President about this as recently as an hour ago. Iran very much continues to talk to the United States of America and express that they want to make a deal with us, because they are suffering devastating blows on behalf of our United States military," Leavitt added.

The White House on Thursday (local time) said the Strait of Hormuz remains open for commercial vessels that are not travelling to or from Iranian ports as part of the US blockade on Tehran, adding that the US Navy is deployed to ensure the continued flow of maritime traffic through the strategic waterway.
Responding to a question during a press briefing on the decline in commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz amid escalating US military operations, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the United States had implemented a blockade that applies only to vessels entering or departing Iranian ports.

Republicans on the budget committee in the US House of Representatives have pushed forward a $95bn spending package that includes billions of dollars of funding related to the war on Iran.

A Republican-controlled budget panel in the US House of Representatives approved the resolution on Thursday, clearing it for a full House vote as early as next week. The $95bn budget plan includes $60bn for defence, $13bn for intelligence, and $12bn for agriculture, as US farmers face higher fuel and fertiliser costs during the war.

A senior spokesperson for Iran's Armed Forces on Thursday (local time) warned that Tehran could target US infrastructure across West Asia if Iranian infrastructure comes under attack, while asserting that the presence of American forces is the main cause of insecurity in the Strait of Hormuz.
According to statements carried by Iranian state media outlet Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi, the senior spokesperson for Iran's Armed Forces, said the United States and Israel had "no right" to be present in the region.
"America and the fake Zionist government have no right to be in the region," Shekarchi said during a televised interview carried by IRIB.
He claimed that the Strait of Hormuz remains secure under Iran's control and blamed the US military presence for rising tensions in the strategic waterway.

US forces intercepted three commercial vessels attempting to breach the US naval blockade against Iran, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said. CENTCOM said on X: "As of today, American forces have redirected 3 commercial vessels trying to run the blockade, disabled 1 that didn’t comply, and boarded 1 to ensure full compliance with the ongoing U.S. naval blockade against Iran. "US Marines from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit conduct a verification boarding aboard M/T Wen Yao in the Gulf of Oman, July 16, CENTCOM announced.US forces resumed blocking maritime traffic entering and leaving Iranian ports on Tuesday."The Strait of Hormuz and the surrounding waters remain free and open, except for vessels attempting to violate America's steel wall blockade," CENTCOM said.

AFP journalists in Doha reported hearing several blasts early Friday, as Iran attacked US allies in the renewed Middle East war. A public safety alert warned that the security threat level was "elevated" and urged residents to take shelter. (AFP).

The death toll from the US attack on the Bandar-e Khamir bridge in Hormozgan province has risen to seven, Iran’s Fars news agency reported. The attack injured nine people, who are receiving treatment from emergency services and medical staff, it added.