SRINAGAR: The United States and Iran exchanged fresh drone and missile strikes on Friday, marking the seventh consecutive night of US military operations, while a senior Iranian military adviser warned that Tehran would intensify its offensive if the attacks continued.
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 18, 2026
US Central Command said on X that American forces carried out strikes aimed at “continuing to degrade Iranian military capabilities.”
Iran, meanwhile, accused the United States of targeting civilian infrastructure, including an airport, a railway station and two bridges, and claimed it had launched strikes against US assets across the region. There was no immediate confirmation from Washington that civilian infrastructure had been deliberately targeted.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed “deep concern” over the latest escalation, saying attacks on civilian infrastructure were “unacceptable” and urging restraint.
Major General Mohsen Rezaei, a senior military adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, warned that Tehran would resume “full-scale offensive operations” if US strikes continued for another two or three days.
“Iran will no longer limit itself to retaliatory, like-for-like responses… and no political border will be safe,” Rezaei was quoted as saying by the Iranian news agency IRIB.
🚨 BREAKING | Iran Fires Ballistic Missile at Saudi Arabia
The first direct Iranian attack on Saudi soil in nearly four months, a significant escalation that just expanded the war’s reach into the Kingdom. pic.twitter.com/vcfmbac6DG
— ME24 – Middle East 24 (@MiddleEast_24) July 18, 2026
Iranian Revolutionary Guards Aerospace Force Commander Majid Mousavi also said targeted strikes from across Iran would continue until the United States halted operations against Iranian coastal facilities in the south and around the Strait of Hormuz.
The latest escalation follows the US announcement on Tuesday that it had resumed a naval blockade of vessels transiting to or from Iranian ports and coastal areas.
The conflict began on February 28, with US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Tehran responded by effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil shipping route, and launching attacks on Israel and US interests across the Gulf.
Despite a Pakistan-mediated memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the conflict and securing a lasting peace agreement, tensions between Washington and Tehran have continued to escalate, particularly over the Strait of Hormuz.
