US-Iran clashes enter 7th day as Tehran threatens wider regional conflict

The military clashes between the United States and Iran entered the seventh day on Friday, with no immediate end in sight. The U.S. military said it carried out a series of airstrikes across Iran, vowing to "continue degrading Iran's military capabilities." Iranian state media reported multiple explosions following the strikes, including in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas and the cities of Yazd, Qeshm, Lar, Sirik and Ahvaz.

Meanwhile, the Iranian military announced that it launched shore-to-sea cruise missiles at an American vessel in the northern Indian Ocean and destroyed what it described as a major artificial intelligence center in Bahrain.

"The center, which was used by the Great Satan to direct the enemy in carrying out war crimes, was completely destroyed by ballistic missiles and dozens of drones," Iran's state-run IRNA news agency claimed. Tehran also said it had struck an American military drone warehouse in Bahrain. The claims could not be independently verified.

In a separate incident, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported that Iranian forces struck a Thai-flagged vessel that had "attempted to pass through the Strait of Hormuz without receiving authorization from the Revolutionary Guard navy."

IRGC Navy Commander Ali Azmaei threatened to "turn the sea into hell for the Americans." Separately, senior IRGC official Mohsen Rezaei warned that Iran would carry out additional attacks on U.S. interests across the Middle East. Quoting Iranian state media, CNN reported that Rezaei said Tehran would shift to full-scale offensive operations if U.S. strikes did not end within the next two or three days. He also claimed the Iranian military could strike any target it chose.

As the conflict with the United States intensifies, Iran is increasingly relying on its longstanding strategy of asymmetric warfare, leveraging proxy forces and missile capabilities to offset its weaker conventional military.

Lebanese newspaper Nidaa al-Watan reported on Friday that IRGC commanders had instructed its proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah forces, to prepare for a broader military conflict that would likely involve the Jewish state. The report came after U.S.-brokered talks between Israel and Lebanon aimed at ending hostilities concluded without a breakthrough.

U.S. President Donald Trump has signaled for weeks that he prefers a diplomatic solution to the conflict with Iran. The Trump administration has focused on securing the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. However, the president has increasingly expressed frustration with the regime’s unwillingness to end the conflict.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week, citing flight-tracking data, that Washington was deploying additional fighter jets to the Middle East via Europe.

Axios reported that President Trump has not yet decided whether to escalate the conflict but is prepared to inflict significant damage on Iran to pressure Tehran into reopening the Strait of Hormuz and agreeing to dismantle its nuclear weapons program. While Trump has declared the Strait of Hormuz open to commercial shipping, ship-tracking data showed that only eight vessels transited the waterway on Thursday – the lowest daily total in three weeks. Furthermore, virtually all ships currently transit the strait only after receiving IRGC approval.

U.S. and Israeli officials have assessed that Trump could authorize expanded military strikes in the coming days, prompting American embassies across the Middle East to warn citizens against travel to the region due to "heightened tensions" and the "risk of unpredictable escalation."