Iran has urged residents to switch off air conditioning during peak demand periods as the country’s electricity network comes under growing pressure amid US strikes.
Tehran’s energy ministry said the restrictions were needed “to help ensure a stable electricity supply in the southern provinces,” where officials said extreme heat has coincided with attacks on power-supply facilities.
The heatwave is expected to intensify in the capital, with temperatures forecast to reach triple digits Friday and climb to highs of 102F on both Saturday and Sunday.
Donald Trump ordered the US military to strike Iranian bridges in coastal cities along the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian state media reported that an American missile hit Qeshm, an island said to contain a hidden underground “missile city.” US forces also opened fire on a ship that was allegedly attempting to breach the blockade.
Trump has warned that the operation could expand to target Iran’s power plants and bridges unless Tehran returns to negotiations. In a Fox News interview, he said the attacks would escalate next week if no progress is made.
Iran responded by threatening to strike infrastructure across the region if Washington carries out those threats. Tehran also asked Yemen’s Houthis to prepare to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the event that American forces attack Iranian power infrastructure.
The conflict escalated further overnight as Iran targeted Kuwait’s drinking water and power plants with drones and missiles after Trump unleashed damaging strikes on Iranian bridges and airports, triggering widespread disruption across the country.
Kuwait, an oil-rich desert state, relies heavily on desalination plants for daily life. Those facilities convert Gulf seawater into drinking water and provide about 90 percent of the country’s supply.
The US has carried out several waves of strikes against Iran over the last week
Authorities said several power-generation units were damaged in the attack, but that firefighters had brought the resulting blaze under control.
Iran has repeatedly menaced Washington’s Gulf allies with drone and missile barrages since the war erupted in late February, Thursday’s attack was the first time Tehran has targeted power infrastructure.
In response, Kuwait’s government has urged residents to ration electricity to ease strain on the national grid during the height of summer, as soaring temperatures push demand to its annual peak, according to Bloomberg.
It is unclear if civilians have had their power cut off following Iran’s attack.
Just hours prior, Trump directed the US military to hit Iranian bridges throughout coastal cities along the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian officials reported Thursday explosions in Bandar Abbas and two blasts in Bushehr, home to Iran’s largest civilian nuclear plant.
The US said its forces struck Iranian command centers, air defense sites, missile and drone capabilities, and coastal surveillance facilities tied to the battle over the Strait of Hormuz.
American forces also tightened the blockade with Marines boarding a vessel in the Gulf of Oman.
Iran has responded to US attack by targetting American bases and US allies in the Middle East
Iran has repeatedly menaced Washington’s Gulf allies with drone and missile barrages since the war erupted in late February
In response, Kuwait’s government has urged residents to ration electricity to ease the strain on the national grid
Just hours prior, Trump directed the US military to hit Iranian bridges throughout coastal cities along the Strait of Hormuz
The military also redirected three commercial ships trying to run the blockade and disabled another.
As a result of the attack, Iran has responded in the last week by targeting US airbases in Jordan with ballistic missiles in response to an American attack near a children’s facility.
Earlier in the week, Tehran claimed responsibility for drone strikes on fuel tanks, a Patriot system, a watchtower and an ammunition depot at a US base in Kuwait, and striking Bahrain.
The Strait of Hormuz remains the heart of the conflict, a narrow waterway responsible for one-fifth of global oil. Iran has tried to assert control over the waterway and opened fire on ships after Trump reimposed his blockade.
The renewed fighting has been deadly, killing at least 30 people since last week, while oil prices have spiked sharply.
All of this falls under the wider 2026 Iran war, a conflict that broke out in late February with massive US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
