Summary
- Surge in more large US refueling planes headed to Mideast, signaling likely expansion of strikes on Iran.
- US attacks hit Iranian energy and transport infrastructure.
- Iran threatens stronger retaliation and claims strike on US base in Qatar - and deepens attacks to include US outposts in Jordan, Syria.
- Iran urges power conservation; Hormuz shipping traffic declines further.
- Oil prices rise to session highs on fears of broader regional conflict.
Oil prices are climbing on fresh reports Friday that President Trump is ready to continue escalating and expanding strikes on the Islamic Republic, after a Situation Room briefing this week where the Commander-in-Chief was presented with various options. It bears repeating that the White House in the opening days of Operation Epic Fury promised the American public a fast and hasty, limited military engagement - but this is where we are four months later...
"The Trump administration notified Israel it is sending dozens more refueling planes to the country ahead of a potential expansion of military operations against Iran, three U.S. and Israeli officials said," reports Axios. "After he was presented with several new military plans in a Situation Room meeting Tuesday, President Trump is considering a massive offensive in Iran that would be wider in scope than the current strikes around the Strait of Hormuz." This is but the latest signal that the ceasefire and negotiations are fully dead, and the potential for runaway escalation is bigger than ever:
- OIL RISES TO SESSION HIGHS, BRENT TRADES ABOVE $87/BBL
- US YIELDS RISE TO DAY'S HIGH ON REPORTS OF US-IRAN ESCALATION
- US TO SEND DOZENS MORE REFUELING PLANES: AXIOS
War Secretary Pete Hegseth boasted Friday of taking out this Iranian maritime monitoring tower on the southern coast:
Meanwhile, another US attack on an Iranian oil tanker is being widely reported:
US forces have attacked an Iranian oil tanker docked near Iran’s Kharg Island for the second time in two days, according to an Iranian official speaking to the Fars news agency.
“The empty, Belma N.I.22 oil tanker, which was hit two days ago, was attacked again today by two US missiles”, the deputy governor of Bushehr told Fars.
Iranians Urges to Conserve Power
Iran has on Friday warned of a "more crushing" retaliation following the conclusion of last night's sixth consecutive day of US attacks, targeting military targets and logistics infrastructure, but also civilian sites connected to the power grid. By all accounts this current wave goes beyond the prior strikes in size and scope compared to the past several days.
Iranian state media has reported that eight people were killed from the overnight attacks, and that several bridges had been attacked overnight.
The country is feeling the strain under what is now nearly a week of constant US heavy attacks. This is being seen in that Iran's energy ministry has urgently called on citizens to reduce electricity use after the power grid came under strain following US strikes on energy infrastructure in the south.
In a statement on Friday, the ministry said those areas in the south "are currently experiencing extreme heat and attacks on power infrastructure." But as Al Jazeera notes, "The ministry however did not elaborate on whether it was power plants, transmission lines or other equipment that had been attacked." According to more details:
Iran's Energy Ministry urged citizens to reduce electricity consumption to help stabilize power supply in the country’s southern provinces following US strikes on energy facilities, citing extreme heat and infrastructure damage, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported Friday.
The ministry asked subscribers to turn off air conditioners for one hour during peak consumption periods to help ensure a more stable electricity supply to the affected provinces, ISNA said.
Report: Hormuz Strait transit falls to three week low--
There are signs of renewed attacks on rail as well, per NBC:
A railway junction station just west of Bandar Abbas was also hit, the state-owned IRIB news agency said. The highway and railway bridge strikes appeared aimed at cutting off Bandar Abbas, Iran’s main port, from roads leading toward Tehran, the capital.
While other routes still are open, the U.S. strikes could expand further, potentially disrupting both the movement of military materiel and goods needed for Iran’s 90 million people.
Regional Arab states which host American bases say they were busy overnight intercepting missiles and drones sent from Iran, including Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and with reports of projectiles inbound even in Syria.
'Powerful Attack' on Qatar Base
The IRGC announced Friday that it carried out an attack on the US Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, asserting that it destroyed a long-range radar system and several US aerial refueling aircraft.
Its Aerospace Force described that carried out a "surprise and powerful" attack on Al Udeid Air Base, claiming to have taken out a long-range radar system along with the refueling aircraft parked there.
Per IRIB news agency, the elite Iranian force stated, "The American enemy and the hosts of its bases in the region should know that crossing red lines and attacking people and civilian infrastructure will have a very severe and miserable price. If the enemy continues this trend, more crushing responses are on the way; responses that will remain in the history of battles."
The IRGC further warned that American forces will "pay a heavy price" for what it called crossing "red lines" and targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure. Tehran has not backed off its assertion of 'control' over the Strait of Hormuz - also calling this its red line.
The day or evening prior saw US Marines having conducted "a verification boarding" of a tanker in the Gulf of Oman - which the Pentagon characterized as part of operations enforcing the new naval blockade of Iranian ports.
