Some blame Tehran. Others blame Washington. But pretty much everyone on Iran's southern coast can agree on one thing: The renewal of air strikes between the United States and Iran is hitting hard, bringing a summer without electricity, fuel, or a way to make a living.
Across the shores of Khuzestan and Bushehr on the Persian Gulf, and along the Makran coast in Hormozgan on the Sea of Oman, life has long been tied to the water.But recent US strikes -- which Washington says were sparked by Iranian attacks on commercial ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz -- on ports, vessels, and fishing boats have upended the livelihoods of fishermen, sailors, and anyone dependent on maritime trade."So many boats have sunk, gone under the missiles," a resident of the south said in a video shared on social media. "So many boats burned… Forget the money -- think how many lives were lost."Iranian authorities say the bombings have killed around 50 people, including civilians, since the US started targeting southern Iran in late June. The attacks have become daily over the past nine days.The United States says its primary objective is the systematic degradation of Iran's maritime and anti-access capabilities around the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global energy transit corridor that Iran has effectively blocked in response to the war. Washington says the strikes are aimed at military targets used to threaten shipping through the strait.Residents say the impact extends deep into daily life.Strikes on power plants and transmission substations along the coast have knocked out cooling systems in a region where July heat often breaks 40 degrees Celsius. In the port city of Bandar Abbas, one resident described sitting in a parked car with his family because their home was without electricity."We have no power. At night when we want to sleep, it's the sound of war, of bombs... What did we do to deserve this -- sitting in a car with the whole family at noon instead of sleeping at home? In 41-degree heat, without power, you just boil."
