Iran struck Kuwait and President Donald Trump held a televised cabinet meeting Friday, as the Iran War entered its 154th day.
In a statement carried by Iran’s Tasnim News Agency, the Iranian military announced it struck Kuwait in retaliation for a U.S. attack Wednesday evening that reportedly killed two adults and their toddler, while also injuring two other children. (Iran has labeled this a war crime.) According to Iran, IRGC “suicide drones struck fighter jet shelters, satellite communication systems, and equipment warehouses at Ahmad Al Jaber Air Base in Kuwait.”
Citing U.S. officials, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday evening that the Pentagon is “now rethinking the scope of its footprint” in Kuwait.
Iran also claimed to have struck two oil tankers Friday morning, and its Persian Gulf Strait Authority said in a statement Friday that “transit through the Strait of Hormuz is not possible.” CENTCOM disputes this, posting on X Friday that “the Strait of Hormuz remains open for commercial vessel transit. Iran does not control it.” Kpler’s shipping tracker service reported that commercial crossings dipped from 22 on Wednesday to 5 on Thursday, and noted that “all five vessels used the Iranian Unilateral Scheme,” rather than the southerly Omani route favored by the United States.
In the Red Sea, Kpler reported that traffic through the Bab el Mandeb Strait was fairly robust, with 47 reported transits Thursday.
An article published in the Washington Post asserted that during the month of July, “the U.S. hit at least six bridges and tunnels surrounding the port city of Bandar Abbas” and also “damaged communications lines, a rail station and a desalination plant.”
Saudi Arabia on Thursday announced the formation of a maritime coalition to confront Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who have attempted to enforce a maritime embargo against the Gulf kingdom. Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Sudan, and ten other countries confirmed their participation in the coalition.
In Lebanon, the Israeli military carried out a massive demolition near Beaufort Castle, a Crusader-era fortress listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The IDF is also reported to have shelled houses and other structures in the Tyre area.
According to reporting by the Financial Times, oil giants Exxon and Chevron both posted record profits during the second quarter of this year, largely as a result of Iran War-related energy shocks. The price of Brent Crude oil was $88.50 per barrel on Friday. AAA reported the national average price of gas at $4.11 per gallon.
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