US-Iran fighting escalates as explosions heard near US base in Iraq, sirens in Bahrain
As the US strikes Iran, Tehran targets Strait of Hormuz ships and US allies and assets in the region, apparently including tech giant Amazon
A series of explosions sounded near a military base hosting US forces in northern Iraq and sirens rang out in Bahrain on Friday, hours after the American military said it finished its 13th night of strikes against Iran.
The conflict has flared again over the past week, as the US has pounded Iran while Tehran has attacked ships in the Strait of Hormuz and targeted US assets and allies in the region.
The strait, a crucial passage for the world’s energy supplies, is at the centre of the latest fighting since Iranian attacks could effectively shut the waterway, sending fuel prices soaring worldwide and causing widespread economic turmoil.
The Iranian-allied Houthi rebels added further pressure this week by targeting two Saudi tankers in the Red Sea, making good on a threat to cut off an alternative route for the region’s oil.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Friday that they targeted a data centre in Bahrain belonging to US tech giant Amazon, state media reported.
The forces “targeted and destroyed the intelligence data centre building of the American company Amazon, which plays a major role in completing information for the American child-killing army”, they said in a statement aired by state TV.