At least 35 people have been killed and more than 300 others injured in the latest wave of United States military strikes on Iran, according to Hossein Kermanpour, spokesperson for the Iranian Health Ministry.

He disclosed that at least 72 people remain hospitalised from the attacks, though he did not clarify how many of the dead and wounded were civilians as opposed to combatants. The fresh casualty figures mark a sharp escalation from earlier reports this week, which had placed the toll in the double digits before rising steadily as the bombing campaign intensified.

The US military confirmed that its latest strikes hit multiple targets along Iran’s southern coast, including Bandar Abbas, Khormuj, Ahvaz, Qeshm, Bushehr, and Kuh-e Stak, an area that covers several coastal towns and an island near the Strait of Hormuz. A separate strike reportedly targeted a barracks belonging to Iran’s 388th Mechanized Infantry Brigade in Sistan and Baluchestan province, with Iranian state television reporting that at least 13 missiles were fired in that attack alone, killing seven soldiers, including conscripts and career personnel.

Video footage verified by international outlets also showed thick smoke rising from the port town of Chabahar following further strikes announced by US Central Command.

The renewed hostilities come after President Donald Trump declared that a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire agreement reached with Iran in June was no longer in effect, following Iranian attacks on commercial vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz.

In response, US forces reimposed a naval blockade on Iran and ramped up their air campaign, while Trump has pushed for the US to take direct control of the strategic waterway, proposing that Washington charge a fee on cargo passing through it in exchange for providing security.

Iran, on its part, has continued retaliatory strikes against American allies in the region, targeting what it describes as US military installations in Bahrain and Kuwait using drones and missiles. Kuwait’s military said it intercepted dozens of drones and missiles and reported an Iranian strike on one of its warships, while Jordan’s army confirmed it shot down three ballistic missiles that entered its airspace from Iranian territory, with no casualties or damage recorded. Bahrain also activated alert sirens amid the exchanges.

The escalating conflict has drawn international concern, with the United Nations condemning the renewed fighting and warning of its wider impact on human rights beyond the region.

The European Union’s aviation safety agency has also issued an advisory urging airlines to avoid the airspace of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, and parts of the Gulf of Oman until at least July 29, citing the heightened risk posed by the ongoing hostilities between Washington and Tehran.

Photo Credit: Irish Independent