Waves of US strikes on Iran hit week mark

Defense &

National Security

Your feedback matters to us.

The Big Story

Waves of US strikes on Iran hits week mark

The U.S. military for the seventh consecutive day launched a wave of strikes against Iran on Friday in what U.S. officials described as efforts to degrade Tehran’s military capabilities.

Morteza Akhoundi, Getty Images Provided

The strikes began at 3 p.m. EDT, U.S. Central Command said, with the military widening its strikes against Iran in recent days, attacking targets across the nation.

The U.S. military struck the southern coast of Iran on Thursday, including hitting bridges around Bandar Abbas, a key port city.

Early Friday morning, the U.S. military hit bridges and energy sites in Iran.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) responded with attacks on U.S. bases in the Gulf region, including in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan.

The IRGC also said it attacked a U.S. special operations command center at the al-Tanf garrison military base in Syria — an assertion that U.S. Central Command disputed on Friday morning.

Iran also has fired back against Persian Gulf allies in the region, firing drones and missiles at Qatar, Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait.

The U.S. Navy has continued to enforce the naval blockade, which resumed Tuesday, with U.S. Marines from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit boarding sanctioned oil tanker M/T Wen Yao on Thursday.

President Trump said Thursday night that the U.S. is “winning” big in Iran and that the American public will see the “fruits of that labor very, very shortly.”

Read the full report at thehill.com.

Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & National Security newsletter, I’m Ellen Mitchell — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond.

Essential Reads

How policy will affect defense and national security now and in

the future:

A panel of three federal judges ruled that the Pentagon’s policy requiring journalists in the building to have government escorts will stand, overturning a lower court judge’s decision. In a Thursday evening order, two of the three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit panel said Department of Defense officials “are likely to succeed on their argument” that the escort requirement was not an illegal retaliation …

The U.S. military hit bridges and energy sites in Iran in its latest round of strikes against the Middle Eastern country early Friday morning.  The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) responded with attacks on U.S. bases in the Gulf region, including in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan.  The IRGC also said it attacked a U.S. special operations command center at the al-Tanf garrison military base in Syria — an assertion …

The Navy’s top civilian official is brushing off criticism over an unusually low-altitude Blue Angels flyover at Florida’s Pensacola Beach this week, saying there will be no punishments for the incident.  Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao said the service completed a flight debrief of the Wednesday flyover that sent tents and umbrellas flying during the annual “Breakfast with the Blues” air show event. “No reprimands. No firings. …

On Our Radar

Upcoming things we’re watching on our beat:

The Center for Strategic and International Studies will hold a virtual discussion on “Navigating Strategic Competition: Senator Tammy Duckworth on the Future of U.S. Indo-Pacific Engagement,” at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.

In Other News

Branch out with a different read from The Hill:

Mullin threatens states as DHS launches widespread review of elections

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin went further than President Trump in an address on election security Friday, asserting foreign adversaries could hack voter machines, threatening states that refuse to partner with his department and saying he would use “maximum pressure” to root out any …

What We’re Reading

News we’ve flagged from other outlets:

Trump faces the limits of U.S. firepower and the lessons of past wars (The New York Times)

Trump’s $1.5T defense budget is in trouble (Politico)

230 troops discharged for refusing COVID-19 vaccine have rejoined, Pentagon says (Military Times)

Trending Today

Two key stories on The Hill right now:

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) late Thursday called on Congress to impeach President Trump after the president claimed during a primetime address that forces … Read more

President Trump delivered an address to the nation on Thursday evening in which he sought to paint the state of U.S. election security as indefensible.  … Read more

You’re all caught up.

400 N. Capitol St. NW Suite 950, Washington, DC 20001

Copyright © 1998 – 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved.

If you believe this has been sent to you in error, please safely unsubscribe.

Close

The latest in politics and policy.

Direct to your inbox.

Sign up for the Defense and National Security newsletter

Tags

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.