Iran-US war LIVE: Iran says 10,000 left without water after US strike; Kuwait claims oil facility struck in attack

A new wave of US attacks has plunged Iranians back into deep uncertainty and anxiety after a period of relative calm as the shaky ceasefire held. Iranians contacted by Reuters via an encrypted messaging app said economic problems were mounting and they were consumed by worries over what will happen next.

A photographer in Tehran shared a photograph of her weekly grocery shopping with the publication to highlight how pre-war prices had almost doubled.

“The most important thing overall in the middle of the war is the economy. Every day our situation is worse and more difficult. The thing that’s the most stressful is the back and forth: one day it’s war, the next it’s peace. We don’t know what’s actually going to happen. We can’t even make plans for two ⁠days in the ​future,” she said.

US Vice President JD Vance has dismissed a media report claiming senior White House advisers Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff sought to profit financially from their roles in US-Iran negotiations. Vance insisted he had never received such as private message from Iran, as alleged in the report.

The remarks came in response to a report that alleged Iran had calculated “$9 billion” in profits from “market manipulation” by “individuals close to President Donald Trump” — mainly Kushner and Witkoff. It added that Tehran had formally requested that “$4.5 billion” of that sum be allocated to Iran through intermediaries. The report claimed that the source of the news was a senior Iranian official’s update to the ‘Drop Site’ news site.

“This is completely bogus. I never received a message like this. If I had, I would have said: Jared and Steve are trusted members of the president’s team and very dear friends. No one has done more than the two of them to work towards peace and prosperity in the region. The idea they’re trading on insider information is absurd,” Vance wrote on X.

According to Iranian state TV, the Revolutionary Guards Corps has claimed an attack against Jordan targeting US fighter jets stationed in the country.

According to an AP report citing local officials, a suspected attack by Iran on an Iranian Kurdish dissident group in northern Iraq has killed at least 9 people.

Week-to-week cargo shipments through the strait dropped by almost a quarter at the beginning of the month, according to maritime data firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence. And that was before the recent surge in tit-for-tat attacks.

Given the risks, some oil shippers are transiting the strait with their location devices turned off, but many are just staying put, Lloyd’s said Thursday. A growing amount of the region’s energy is being shipped through pipelines, but not nearly enough to offset the decline in shipping through the strait.

US forces have redirected three commercial vessels trying to run the blockade, disabled one that did not comply and boarded another “to ensure full compliance,” the US military’s Central Command said in a post on X.

India has ordered shipowners, ship managers and recruitment companies not to deploy the ​country’s seafarers on vessels undertaking trips through the Strait of Hormuz ‌amid renewed fighting in the region.

“No deployment of Indian seafarers on vessels undertaking voyages involving passage through the Strait of Hormuz until further orders,” the Directorate General of Shipping order said.

Oil prices inched up on Friday after the U.S. and Iran stepped up attacks across the Gulf, with their broken truce limiting oil flows out of the Strait of Hormuz and with Tehran asking the Houthi organisation to stand ready to shut the Red Sea export route.

Brent crude futures rose 7 cents, or about 0.08%, to $84.30 a barrel at 0632 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures gained ⁠16 ​cents, or 0.2%, to $79.11 a barrel.

Both benchmark contracts have climbed nearly 12% this week, with Brent on track for a third consecutive weekly gain and WTI on pace for a second weekly gain.

Iran has fired missiles and drones at U.S. military bases in neighbouring states, including an air base in Jordan.

Early on Friday, Iran’s military said it had attacked U.S. facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait.

Several explosion-like sounds were heard ​in ​the Qatari capital Doha, according to a witness, and the Ministry of the Interior said a child ⁠was injured by shrapnel.

Qatar twice warned the public to take shelter in the early hours of Friday as a barrage of Iranian missiles targeted the nation. People heard explosions overhead as air defences fired to intercept the missiles. Qatar’s Interior Ministry said falling debris wounded a child.

Qatar, along with Pakistan, is a key mediator in trying to reach an end to the Iran war. But talks have broken down over Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran also targeted Bahrain and Kuwait early Friday. Jordan’s military said it intercepted three incoming missiles Friday morning launched by Iran.

Explosions also could be heard Friday morning in Irbil and Sulaymaniyah in northern Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region as air defenses targeted incoming fire. There was no immediate word on any damage.

According to Iranian state media, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have claimed an attack against the US maritime surveillance radar in Oman.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq ⁠Dar ​called for a ceasefire and the ​resumption of ​dialogue ⁠between the United States and ‌Iran.

The Chinese foreign ministry cited talks between the ⁠ministers ⁠in Shanghai on ⁠Thursday. Wang ‌reportedly urged ​all parties ‌to fulfill their commitments ‌and abide ​by ​the ​ceasefire memorandum of ​understanding

According to a statement released by its armed forces, Jordan intercepted three Iranian missiles targeting its territory on Friday morning. The country said no casualties or material damage had been reported.

The United States Central Command said on Friday morning that its Marines had carried out a verification boarding in the Gulf of Oman as part of the ongoing enforcement of the US naval blockade against Iran and redirected 3 other commercial vessels.

” 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. The Strait of Hormuz and the surrounding waters remain free and open, except for vessels attempting to violate America’s steel wall blockade,” it wrote on X.

The Tasnim news ‌agency reported that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have claimed an attack against a US special operations command centre ⁠at ​al-Tanf in Syria in retaliation for ​the killing ​of Iranian ⁠soldiers in Iranshahr.

The Guards ⁠also ⁠said Iran retained full ⁠control ‌of ​the Strait of ‌Hormuz and that no ‌oil ​or ​gas ​would be exported through the ​waterway for ⁠as long as US attacks ‌continued.

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth shared a photo of Iran’s Chabahar port tower appearing to collapse after repeated strikes on the facility. Chabahar port has been a repeated target of American airstrikes, and the details were also confirmed by an AP news report.

Iranian state media acknowledged a third round of strikes on the facility without immediately acknowledging the tower’s collapse. Iran described the tower as overseeing commercial traffic into the port. However, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard also operates at ports across the country.

https://t.co/jZlSVRePRC pic.twitter.com/Nj5o0oiphH

— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) July 17, 2026

The Iranian military said in the early hours of Friday that it had attacked US facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait. State media quoted the army as saying that it had targeted US force deployment and logistical support centres in Kuwait through drone attacks.

“In response to the enemy’s hostile action targeting urban infrastructure and innocent people, a few hours ago, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s army, in the eleventh phase of Operation Lightning, targeted the location of the US terrorist army’s helicopters and P-8 reconnaissance aircraft at the Sakhir base in Bahrain with Arash drone attacks,” added a statement carried by the state-run IRIB.

Several explosion-like sounds were also heard in the Qatari capital Doha, according to a witness, and ​the Ministry of the Interior said a child was injured by shrapnel.

According to an update from IRNA, seven people were ⁠killed in US attacks on ​bridges in Bandar ‌Khamir, a ⁠port city in southern Iran.

TAKE

Qatar has just warned the public to seek shelter for a second time on Friday morning over an Iranian attack. Sirens also sounded in neighbouring Bahrain.

“Qatar armed forces continue intercepting a number of air attacks targeting the country,” read an X statement from the Ministry of Defence.

International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol warned that prolonged disruption in the Strait of Hormuz could threaten global energy security, with Asian economies such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Japan and South Korea likely to be hit the hardest.

Republicans in the US House Budget Committee approved a $95 billion spending package that includes $60 billion for defence, $13 billion for intelligence, and funding to replenish weapons stockpiles and strengthen military readiness amid the Iran conflict.

Brent crude rose above $85 a barrel, while WTI climbed close to $80, extending weekly gains as fresh US-Iran fighting and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz raised fears of tighter global oil supplies.

President Donald Trump said the US is “winning big in Iran” and that the benefits of its military campaign will become evident “very shortly,” even as American forces expanded airstrikes by targeting bridges and other critical infrastructure to increase pressure on Tehran over the Strait of Hormuz.

Kuwait said its air defence systems intercepted 32 Iranian drones on Thursday. While debris damaged several residential areas and vital facilities, authorities said there were no deaths or injuries.

Kuwait said its air defence systems intercepted 32 Iranian drones on Thursday. While debris damaged several residential areas and vital facilities, authorities said there were no deaths or injuries.

Tehran accused the United States of committing “war crimes” by striking civilian infrastructure, saying the attacks violate international law. Iran, however, defended its own regional military actions as legitimate self-defence.

The White House said recent gains in oil and fuel prices are only “temporary disruptions,” crediting President Donald Trump’s energy policies for preventing a much bigger surge despite the escalating conflict.

Commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen sharply, with only three ships passing through in the last 24 hours compared with a pre-war daily average of about 110 vessels. The renewed US naval blockade has further disrupted one of the world’s busiest oil routes.

The US military carried out its sixth consecutive night of airstrikes, targeting multiple locations including Qeshm Island, Bandar Abbas, Bandar Khamir, Ahvaz, Bushehr, Iranshahr and Hamidiyeh. Washington said the attacks were aimed at weakening Iran’s military capabilities.

Brent crude traded above $85 a barrel, while US benchmark WTI crossed $80, as renewed fighting between the US and Iran stoked fears of supply disruptions. The ongoing conflict around the Strait of Hormuz continues to keep global energy markets on edge.