US forces announced they carried out another night of operations against Iranian targets on Friday, marking the seventh in a row, while tensions rose in the Hormuz region.

US Central Command posted on X that the actions, starting at 7pm GMT, sought to keep reducing Iranian military strengths.

Iranian outlets noted blasts or operations in Sirik, Ahvaz and Yazd.

Late Friday the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed two oil tankers struck mines and exploded in Hormuz, though the US military rejected that account as untrue.

Conflict persisted into Saturday as the IRGC stated it hit a location holding US combat aircraft at Sheikh Isa air base plus an intelligence data centre in Bahrain known as Batelco, per Iranian state media.

The IRGC also struck a US naval fuel support pier at al Ahmadi port and a US signals and communications centre in Kuwait, while Kuwait paused operations at its international airport due to Iranian missile and drone activity.

On Friday US airstrikes damaged bridges in southern Hormozgan province, resulting in at least seven deaths according to Iranian state TV. Those bridges served as a vital link to Bandar Abbas, the country main port. Additional strikes toppled a tower at Chabahar port on the Gulf of Oman that the US said the IRGC used to support vessel attacks in the strait. Key electrical sites and Iranshahr airport were also hit.

Iran energy ministry urged residents to cut electricity and air conditioning use after strikes strained the power grid. It noted southern areas faced extreme heat plus infrastructure damage as temperatures climbed.

Attacks on civilian sites not serving military roles might amount to war crimes, according to human rights experts.

Renewed US operations had caused at least 38 deaths and over 400 injuries in Iran by Friday morning, said health ministry spokesperson Hossein Kermanpour.

The actions followed through on Donald Trump pledge to broaden strikes on Iran, including infrastructure and power plants. The president met senior officials this week to plan an expanded air effort aimed at reopening the strait of Hormuz.

Fighting has now lasted seven days and further weakened the interim agreement between Iran and the US meant to maintain strait access and allow talks toward a lasting truce. Iran closed the strait while the US reinstated its blockade of Iranian ports and vessels on Wednesday.

Following Friday strikes the IRGC warned of a devastating price for nations hosting US bases if attacks on infrastructure continued.

The American enemy and hosts of its bases in the region should know that crossing red lines and attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure will have a very severe and devastating price to pay, the IRGC stated.

Iran military replied to US strikes by targeting Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Oman and Qatar. Qatar, a mediator between the sides, had mostly avoided Iranian response in recent violence. Qatari officials reported falling debris injured a child during air defence interceptions.

In Kuwait authorities said Iranian strikes hit a power and desalination plant, harming the water facility. The nation depends on desalinated water for roughly 90 percent of drinking supplies. Officials worked to evaluate damage and restore operations.

Renewed fighting centres on the strait of Hormuz, which handled about a fifth of global oil and gas supply before the war. Though the memorandum signed last month called for the strait to stay open, both sides read the deal differently.

Washington and Tehran put forward rival transit plans, with Iran striking some vessels using the US route. Shipping has fallen sharply in recent days amid rising violence, though most continuing traffic followed the Iranian path.

Iran Tasnim news agency cited a source saying a Thai flagged ship was hit in the strait on Friday after ignoring warnings and trying to pass without IRGC navy permission.

Iranian state media also reported the US struck an empty oil tanker docked at Kharg Island, the main export terminal on the strait.

US forces boarded a vessel in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday as part of the renewed blockade that began earlier in the week, the military said. Central Command added it redirected three commercial ships attempting to run the blockade since it started at 8pm GMT on Tuesday. The prior day a US aircraft fired on and disabled an unladen tanker trying to breach the blockade.

Iran asked allies in Yemen, the Houthis, to prepare to close the Red Sea oil route if the US targets Iranian energy sites, Reuters reported, a move that could disrupt global energy markets if carried out.

Houthi leader Abdulmalik al Houthi also warned that all Saudi oil and critical facilities could face targeting if Riyadh intervenes in Yemen. The warning followed Saudi strikes on Sanaa airport and subsequent Houthi missile responses against Saudi Arabia.

Week to week cargo shipments through the strait dropped by nearly a quarter early in the month, per maritime data firm Lloyds List Intelligence, before the latest surge in attacks.

Due to risks some oil shippers transit the strait with location devices off while many remain in port, Lloyds noted on Thursday. More regional energy moves via pipelines but not enough to offset the shipping decline.

On Thursday Pakistan foreign ministry said efforts continued to bring the US and Tehran to talks but noted the task was growing harder.

Despite rising conflict and trade disruption Trump said the war was proceeding well for the US. We are likewise winning big in Iran, and you will see the fruits of that labour very, very shortly, he stated in a public address.

The Associated Press and Agence France Presse contributed to this report