US mounts sixth straight night of attacks as Iran warns of wider war

Iranian media reports airport, span and communications operation targeted.

The United States has continued its attacks against Iran for a sixth consecutive night, with strikes targeting infrastructure successful the country’s south, according to section media reports.

The US subject said it initiated its latest circular of attacks astatine 18:00 GMT connected Thursday, arsenic Iranian media reported explosions and attacks successful Qeshm Island, Bandar Abbas, Chabahar, Iranshahr and Bandar-e Khamir.

Iran’s Tasnim quality bureau reported that a US rocket onslaught targeted an airdrome successful Iranshahr, portion different “enemy” onslaught deed a communications operation successful Bandar Abbas, cutting disconnected powerfulness successful the area.

Iran’s Fars quality bureau reported a suspected US onslaught connected a span successful Bandar-e Khamir.

The attacks – days aft US President Donald Trump threatened to perchance deed Iranian infrastructure – were the latest motion of peril for an interim US-Iran woody the 2 signed past month.

Both sides person since accused the different of violating the memorandum of knowing (MoU) amid a week of spiralling hostilities.

‘Time of uncertainty’

Earlier connected Thursday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed an onslaught connected an airbase utilized by US forces successful Bahrain, saying it was successful effect to what it called a “barbaric” US attack that forced the evacuation of a children’s crab infirmary successful the southwestern metropolis of Ahvaz.

The IRGC besides claimed further attacks connected Kuwait and Jordan.

Kuwait’s service said Iran’s attacks included 32 drones and targeted captious facilities, causing worldly damage.

Iranian service spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia warned Iran’s attacks “will dispersed to caller areas” if the US attacks against it transportation on.

Al Jazeera’s Aksel Zaimovic, reporting from Doha, Qatar, said Gulf states are strengthening their aerial defences and subject preparedness astir important infrastructure “in this clip of uncertainty”.

US ‘always unfastened to diplomacy’

Earlier successful the week, Trump threatened to people Iran’s powerfulness plants and bridges if the state did not instrumentality to the negotiating table, which Iranian Brigadier General Ebrahim Zolfaghari threatened would beryllium met with a “crushing blow” connected determination infrastructure.

The US appeared to onslaught a much diplomatic code connected Thursday, with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt saying Trump would clasp Iran “accountable”, but “is ever unfastened to diplomacy astatine the precise aforesaid time”.

“They [Iranian officials] person expressed they inactive privation to marque a woody to the president. We’re talking to them, but again, the president is not going to let them to occurrence connected ships successful the strait without paying a effect for that,” said Leavitt.

Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said connected Wednesday that Tehran has no plans to prosecute successful talks with the US and is focused solely connected defending the country.

Sina Azodi, adjunct prof of Middle East Politics astatine George Washington University, said some the US and Iran are “trying to unit the different broadside to blink archetypal and capitulate to the different side’s demands”.

“The US broadside wants the Iranians to travel backmost to the negotiations and output to the American demands,” Azodi told Al Jazeera. “On the Iranian side, they privation the United States to archetypal assistance the blockade and besides afloat instrumentality that MoU that was reached.”