War on Iran intensifies as Trump attacks bridge, warns of future, and Iran hits Gulf states

Oil prices continued to rise on worries about a protracted war in Iran but most Asian markets opened modestly higher in cautious trading on Friday.

In Europe, trading was closed in France, Germany and Britain for the Good Friday holiday.

US markets were also closed, but S&P 500 futures traded down about 0.3% to 6,604.50. Dow futures were down 0.3% at 46,615.00.

Benchmark US crude rose 11.4% to $111.54 a barrel. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, jumped 7.8% to $109.03 per barrel.

“An extended conflict raises a threat to physical infrastructure, increases disruption through the Strait of Hormuz, and will involve a long recovery period after the war, with price impacts spilling over later in the year,” according to a report from BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions.

The US relies on the Persian Gulf for part of its oil imports, but oil is a commodity and prices are set on the world market.

Iranian media reported a new request by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Friday to shoot down a US F-35 fighter jet.

The plane “was shot down in the center of Iran by a new system of the IRGC Aerospace Force,” a spokesman for Iran’s military headquarters said in a press release. “Due to the massive explosion of the plane when it crashes and crashes, there is little chance of the pilot getting out safely.”

It was the IRGC’s second claim to shoot down an F-35 this week, the first of which was flatly denied by the US military on Thursday.

“All US warplanes have been accounted for,” the US Central Command said in a social media post on Thursday, referring to a claim made by the IRGC on Wednesday that it shot down an F-35 over the Iranian Persian Gulf island of Qeshm.

“Iran’s IRGC has made the same false claim at least a dozen times,” CENTCOM added in its social media post.

CBS News asked CENTCOM about the new IRGC claim on Friday but did not immediately receive a response.

Iranian media have posted pictures on social media showing various items of debris described as parts of the downed F-35, including a photo said to show a badly damaged tail piece with markings suggesting the debris was part of an aircraft based at RAF Lakenheath air base in the UK, home of the US Air Forces’ 48th Fighter Wing, which includes the F-35.

CBS News has not independently verified the authenticity of the images shared by Iran’s state media.

Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy said on Friday that one of the integrated water desalination plants “was attacked as part of the heinous Iranian aggression against the State of Kuwait, which resulted in property damage in some parts of the plant.”

“Technical and emergency teams immediately began their work, in accordance with the approved emergency plans, to deal with the consequences of the incident and to ensure continued efficiency, in full cooperation with security and the relevant authorities to protect the affected areas,” said the Department.

Earlier, the National Petroleum Corporation of Kuwait said that the Al-Ahmadi Port Refinery, one of the largest oil refineries in the region, was hit by an Iranian drone attack, “resulting in the burning of many operational units.”

The company said emergency crews are “working to contain the fires and stop them from spreading.”

Further north on the Persian Gulf coast, the government of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates said falling debris from an Iranian missile or drone hit the government’s Habshan natural gas processing plant, sparking a fire but causing no injuries.

The UAE’s Ministry of Defense had previously said the military’s defenses were fighting “missile and drone attacks from Iran.”

The Ministry of Defense of Saudi Arabia also reported “the interception and destruction of 6 drones in the past hours” on Friday, as Iran continues its attacks against the US Gulf allies despite repeated assertions by the Trump administration that the Islamic Republic’s missile and drone capabilities have been reduced by 90% during more than a month of incessant US-Israeli strikes.

“Civil structures that are on strike, including unfinished bridges, will not force the Iranian people to surrender,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Wednesday on social media.

His message appeared to be a response to President Trump’s post on Social Truth, where Mr. Trump wrote, “The biggest bridge in Iran is falling, it will never be used again,” along with a video of the bridge being destroyed.

Araghchi said that such an attack “only reveals the defeat and the breakdown of the morale of the scattered enemy. Every bridge and building will be rebuilt by force. What will never recover: the damage to America’s standing.”

“There is one significant difference between now and the Stone Age: there was no oil or gas being pumped into the Middle East back then,” he said, echoing the words of Mr.

“Are POTUS and Americans in office sure they want to turn back the clock?” Araghchi wrote.

Strikes on Iran’s B1 bridge killed at least eight people and injured 95 others, Iran’s state media said, citing authorities in Alborz province.

People gathered under the bridge, which is still under construction, and on the banks of the river to celebrate “Nature Day,” Iranian state media said.

President Trump spoke about the strike on the B1 bridge, which is west of Tehran in the city of Karaj, in a social media post on Thursday. He urged Iran to “make a deal.”

“The biggest bridge in Iran is collapsing, it will never be used again – More to come!” he said on Truth Social, posting a video of the bridge collapse.

CBS/AP

Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, said in a statement that the president’s speech on Wednesday night was “based on the truth that exists only in the mind of Donald Trump.”

“We are losing this battle,” said Murphy. “We cannot destroy all their missiles or drones, or their nuclear program. Iran is projecting more power in the region than before the war, especially if it now controls the Strait of Hormuz forever. We are spending billions we don’t have and losing American lives in a war that is destroying the world and making us look ridiculous.”