US strikes are increasing in number and now reaching beyond the coastal areas bordering the Strait of Hormuz, according to reports of explosions on Iranian media, signaling the increased intensity of this round of attacks.
Overnight, most US bombing was still concentrated in areas along Iran’s southern coast but one attack struck a military facility in Na’in, in central Iran, killing one person and wounding seven others, the province’s deputy governor told the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).
There were also more strikes over this weekend – US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it hit 140 targets overnight Saturday compared to 90 overnight Wednesday and 80 on Tuesday night. As for yesterday night, CENTCOM did not specify the precise number, saying only that the US struck “dozens of targets at multiple locations.”
At least one of those strikes hit civilian infrastructure too. One attack struck a water pumping station in Mahshar County, on the southern coast, killed the facility’s security guard and wounded four others, according to Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB.
Video geolocated and verified by CNN also showed an Iranian aircraft hangar at an airport in the southwestern city of Omidiyeh in flames. And a telecommunications tower near the village of Taherouyi in Sirik County was struck too, the IRIB said.
This latest round of strikes confirms that the US-Iran ceasefire is in tatters, with Tehran saying it is responding to US strikes with its own attacks against American bases in the region.
Still, one analyst, retired US Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton, yesterday characterized this latest phase of the war as “a series of strikes and counterstrikes, punch, counter punch, that is basically designed to keep the pot on a simmer … but not boiling over.”
CNN’s Chris Lau contributed reporting.
