Iran War Updates: U.S. launches 7th straight day of strikes as traffic freezes up in Strait of Hormuz

CENTCOM Reports Explosions in Yazd and Sirik

The campaign has resulted in explosions across several regions. Iranian state news agency IRNA reported five explosions in the early hours of Saturday in Yazd, in central Iran. Iranian state television reported three explosions in the southern city of Sirik, while the Mehr news agency reported blasts in several provinces in the south.

As the conflict escalates, Tehran has accused Washington of targeting civilian infrastructure and committing war crimes. Footage and images published by Iranian state media show heavily damaged bridges and railway lines in the country’s south. Iran has warned it would respond in kind by striking civilian infrastructure across the Gulf region. The U.S. has denied these accusations.

The military engagement has expanded beyond direct U.S.-Iran strikes. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed a new series of strikes on Friday targeting U.S. military facilities across the Middle East, alleging attacks on sites in Syria, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, and Jordan. The U.S. military denied those claims. Meanwhile, CBS News reported that several U.S. service members were injured in Iranian attacks on Jordanian bases this week, though it noted no fatalities among Americans or Jordanians at this time.

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Marines Destroy the Chabahar Shahid Kalantari Port Surveillance Tower

On Thursday, the U.S. military destroyed the Chabahar Shahid Kalantari Port surveillance tower in southeastern Iran. CENTCOM described the structure as part of a maritime surveillance network used for decades by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to track and target commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz. CENTCOM released video footage showing Marines boarding a tanker in the Gulf of Oman to verify compliance with the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports. The military stated, The destruction of the tower directly degrades (the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps') ability to coordinate attacks on innocent civilian crew members.

The conflict has significantly impacted global energy transit. According to analytics firm Kpler, there were only eight crossings in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, the lowest level of activity in three weeks. Before the war, crossings exceeded 130 on a typical day. According to AAA, the national average gas price rose to $3.98 on Friday, marking a second consecutive 5-cent overnight jump from the pre-war average of $2.98.

Donald Trump Credits Shehbaz Sharif and Asim Munir for Ceasefire Mediation

Diplomatic efforts have faced setbacks. U.S. President Donald Trump previously agreed to suspend a planned bombing of Iran for two weeks following threats that a whole civilization will die tonight if Tehran did not comply with demands regarding the Strait of Hormuz. In a post on Truth Social at 6:32pm US Eastern time on July 9, Trump credited Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir for mediating the request to hold off. Following this, Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi confirmed a tentative agreement, stating, If attacks against Iran are halted, our Powerful Armed Forces will cease their defensive operations.

This follows our earlier report, Trump to Give National Address on 2020 Election Intelligence This Thursday.

Ehsan Jahanian Claims Projectile Hit Near Bushehr Nuclear Plant

Uncertainty persists regarding the scope of the strikes. On July 9, Iranian state media reported that a US-Israeli projectile hit a military headquarters on the outskirts of Bushehr. The deputy governor of Bushehr, Ehsan Jahanian, was quoted by IRNA as saying, Moments ago, a military headquarters on the outskirts of Bushehr was attacked and hit by a projectile of the American-Zionist enemy. Authorities also reported that a projectile hit the perimeter of Iran’s lone nuclear power plant, though U.S. officials have not acknowledged striking the site. Amid these reports, two U.S. officials stated the American military was not currently conducting strikes at that time. On the same day, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said his country was prepared to resume its military campaign if necessary and with even greater force.