LEILA FADEL, HOST:
There's been another escalation in the week of strikes between the U.S. and Iran. The U.S. hit bridges and a tower at an important Iranian port Thursday night, Eastern Time. NPR's Jane Arraf has been following developments and joins us from Jordan. Good morning, Jane.
JANE ARRAF, BYLINE: Good morning, Leila.
FADEL: So what happened overnight?
ARRAF: Well, President Trump has been threatening to strike Iranian bridges and power plants this week if Iran didn't return to negotiations. And last night and this morning, U.S. air strikes hit six bridges in around southern Hormozgan province. That province faces the Strait of Hormuz, that key oil waterway. Iranian state TV says at least seven people were killed there. And it also reports attacks on power infrastructure.
Those U.S. attacks also collapsed a tower at an Iranian port at the Gulf of Oman, according to state media. And Pete Hegseth, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, circulated an image of a collapsed tower there that had previously circulated on social media. The U.S. military, Leila, says it struck dozens of Iranian military targets. And it says those attacks were meant to degrade Iranian military capabilities. But CENTCOM didn't mention the bridges. And as you know, attacks on infrastructure with wide civilian use under international law under some circumstances could be considered a war crime.
FADEL: Yeah. How did Iran respond?
ARRAF: Well, Iran has retaliated by striking U.S. and other targets in the Gulf, as well as launching missiles into Jordan and Iraq. In the Kurdistan region of Iraq, which hosts Iranian Kurdish opposition bases, at least eight Kurdish opposition fighters were killed in an Iranian attack. And those attacks in the Gulf by Iran, they included ones in Qatar, which has been mediating between the U.S. and Iran, also Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman.
And oddly, Iran says it attacked a remote special forces base in southeastern Syria, causing casualties and damage. That's the al-Tanf base, where the U.S. says it actually pulled out troops in February. There's no comment from the U.S. military and it's unclear whether they're reusing that base.
FADEL: What effect are all of these attacks having on shipping?
ARRAF: Well, oil prices are certainly up this morning. And that means they're up about 10% over the past week. That's a concern, of course, for consumers and politicians. Trump in his speech about election fraud last night - alleged election fraud - devoted a brief line to Iran. Here's what he said.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: We are likewise winning big in Iran. And you will see the fruits of that labor very, very shortly. America is back and doing really well.
ARRAF: Now, Iran says that no oil or gas will go through the Strait of Hormuz until the attacks stop. And the U.S. has deployed 50,000 troops in the region, partly to enforce a naval blockade. But tracking agencies show tanker traffic in that strait has fallen to almost nothing. And if that weren't bad enough, Yemen's Houthi rebels are threatening to close yet another waterway, the Bab el-Mandeb, which is another important shipping channel, if Saudi attacks continue in Yemen.
FADEL: So the ceasefire agreement from about a month ago - over?
ARRAF: Pretty much collapsed. Yep. But Vice President Vance says diplomacy is still a tool. Just have to get back to the table.
FADEL: NPR's Jane Arraf. Thank you, Jane.
ARRAF: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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