TEHRAN — Iran significantly intensified its military posture across the Persian Gulf on Friday, announcing a series of coordinated military and maritime actions that underscored its determination to tighten control over the Strait of Hormuz while expanding retaliatory strikes against US military facilities in the region.

The latest developments represent one of the most extensive operational phases since Washington's military campaign against Iran began, highlighting Tehran's strategy of combining maritime enforcement with long-range military operations against American assets stationed across the Persian Gulf.

The most immediate escalation unfolded in the Strait of Hormuz, where the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said two oil tankers attempting to navigate through 'an unauthorized shipping route' were disabled after ignoring repeated Iranian warnings. According to the IRGC, four additional tankers immediately reversed course, while the force reiterated that its Navy maintains "full control and management" over navigation in the strategic waterway.

The announcement came shortly after Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Affairs Authority (PGSA) declared that commercial transit through the Strait of Hormuz remains suspended because of 'continuing US military aggression in the region.' The authority said navigation requests would be reviewed only after stability returns, reaffirming that all vessels must comply with procedures introduced under Iran's new management system for the strait.

Taken together, the two announcements indicate Tehran is seeking not only to preserve its expanded authority over the world's most strategically important energy corridor but also to enforce that authority through military means. Iranian officials argue that continued US military involvement in maritime traffic violates the Islamabad memorandum of understanding, under which Iran says its role in administering navigation through the Strait of Hormuz was recognized.

Regional military campaign expands beyond Iranian waters

Alongside its maritime measures, Iran announced a widening campaign targeting US military infrastructure across the Persian Gulf.

The Iranian Army said it struck key facilities at Ahmad Al Jaber Air Base in Kuwait during the latest phase of Operation Thunderbolt, stating suicide drones hit aircraft shelters, satellite communication systems and logistics warehouses. Military officials described the strike as retaliation for recent US attacks inside Iran and asserted that repeated Iranian missile and drone operations have made interception increasingly difficult despite the deployment of advanced American air-defense systems.

The top commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters Major General Ali Abdollahi stated on Thursday night, “The Americans and their mercenaries have today realized deep in their souls that their coffins are part of their equipment in the region.”

The senior commander recalled the words of the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, describing him as “that elder, mentor and martyred Leader,” who had declared that the age of striking without consequence and fleeing has ended.

Separately, the IRGC announced another operation under Operation Nasr-2, saying its Aerospace Force destroyed two drone shelters and a fuel depot at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait. The IRGC described the attack as part of a sustained effort to raise the military cost of Washington's regional presence while warning countries assisting US operations that they could face consequences if they continue their support.

Iran also sought to reinforce its battlefield narrative by releasing 'photographic evidence' showing damage to a maintenance hangar at Al Azraq Air Base in Jordan. The images were presented as a direct rebuttal to US Central Command's claims that previous Iranian missile strikes caused no damage to American facilities.

US retaliates by attacking civilian facilities

The military escalation coincided with renewed condemnation from senior Iranian officials over recent US strikes on civilian areas.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf accused Washington of attempting to compensate for battlefield setbacks by targeting civilians, warning that the United States "will pay the price" for missile attacks on residential areas in southern Iran.

His remarks followed American strikes on Qeshm Island as well as parts of Bushehr, Khuzestan and Fars provinces. According to Iranian authorities, the deadliest attack struck a residential house in Qeshm's Chah Tangu neighborhood, killing three members of a family—including a two-

year-old child—and injuring two other children. Officials said additional strikes targeted areas near Choghadak in Bushehr Province and locations in Kazeroun and Farashband in Fars Province, including a sports hall. 

The casualties prompted a sharp reaction from Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, who condemned the US strike on residential homes in Qeshm Island as a "criminal attack" that wiped out an entire civilian family and accused Washington of targeting the Iranian people.

In a statement issued on Friday, Baqaei said the attack destroyed several homes and killed a taxi driver, his wife and their two-year-old child, describing the strike as a tragedy that "would break the heart of every person of conscience."

He said the attack was part of 'a pattern of crimes reminiscent of the atrocities committed by ISIS, arguing that such actions were being carried out under the banner of "peace through strength" to punish the Iranian nation for insisting on its legitimate rights, dignity and independence.

"These crimes will never confer power, authority or legitimacy on those who perpetrate them," Baqaei said.

He added that every explosion, every act of violence, every sanction, every threat and every child killed would only make the Iranian people "more determined, more united and more steadfast in defending their homeland."

The civilian casualties have become a central element of Tehran's political messaging, with officials portraying military retaliation as a response not only to attacks on strategic facilities but also to 'repeated US strikes against civilian targets.'