US and Iran target infrastructure as strait shipping comes under further attack

Gulf states came under fresh attacks from Iran on Saturday after a seventh straight night of US strikes targeting Iranian military sites including logistics facilities, escalating the war one week after a ceasefire fell apart.

Civilian infrastructure was increasingly being subjected to attack despite concerns about potential war crimes.

Kuwait came under sustained attack, with a power generation and water desalination plant in Kuwait hit, the country's Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy Ministry said in a statement. It was the second attack on Kuwaiti water desalination sites in two days. Operations at Kuwait International Airport was also suspended due to repeated missile and drone threats.

On Friday, both sides took aim at shipping traffic, with the US saying it was enforcing a naval blockade while Iran said it targeted vessels that violated its rules on navigating the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway for one-fifth of the world's oil supply.

Oil prices climbed more than 4 per cent on Friday to their highest level in more than a month, applying political pressure on US President Donald Trump as his Republican Party tries to hold on to power in November congressional elections.

Trump has threatened to launch broad-based air strikes on Iran's infrastructure and has also declined to rule out a ground assault on Iran's coast or islands. US officials have said attacks on southern Iran are designed in part to give Trump options.