According to the military command Centcom, the American attacks were directed at military targets "to degrade Iran's ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels passing through regional waters."
During the night before Thursday's wave of US attacks, explosions were heard in several Iranian cities, including Bushehr, Ahvaz and Sirik. State media also reported that two people were killed and eleven wounded in attacks near a border crossing with Iraq.
On Thursday afternoon, state-controlled Tasnim reported that a US missile had hit a target near the town of Suza on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.
Claiming destroyed equipment
Iran's Revolutionary Guard claimed on Thursday that American military equipment in Jordan had been destroyed in Iranian strikes. Among other things, a helicopter hangar and a Patriot system were reportedly destroyed, according to the statement.
Centcom said attacks on air defence facilities and missile and drone storage facilities had ceased on Thursday morning.
The countries have been attacking each other every night for almost two weeks. The US has, among other things, struck Iranian coastal cities, and Iran has repeatedly responded with attacks on American bases around the Middle East.
“Countering threats”
Kuwait's air defenses fired on Iranian missiles and drones in an attack on Thursday evening, the country's General Staff announced on social media.
Drone attacks have also reportedly been carried out against targets near the Iraqi border.
Iran said it had stopped three ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The country has for some time targeted ships attempting to pass through the strait along a route off the coast of Oman, with the aim of forcing the ships into Iranian waters where they would pay for safe passage.
Symbolic vote
The US House of Representatives convened on Thursday for a vote on a call for President and Commander-in-Chief Donald Trump to end the attacks on Iran. The call was voted on by 214 votes to 208. Four Republicans chose to side with the Democrats.
But the vote was a symbolic act, as the resolution requires the president's signature to become valid. The Senate was also reported to oppose the resolution.
