Fresh US strikes on Iran's southern coast this week have left residents of Bandar Abbas and Sirik describing a return to fear just as many were beginning to recover from last month's conflict.
US Central Command confirmed carrying out the attacks, stating they were intended to curb Iran's capacity to threaten maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian Health Ministry said that at least 14 people have died and more than 78 have been wounded across the two nights of strikes, which hit both Bandar Abbas and the port city of Sirik roughly 180km away.
A teacher living near the fishing pier in Bandar Abbas, who asked to be identified only by a pseudonym, told the Guardian she counted "back-to-back explosions – at least 10" overnight, and said her family's cat hid under the bed in fear.
The renewed bombardment has hit hardest in areas already struggling with basic necessities. According to the Guardian, earlier strikes in June had knocked out two water storage facilities near Sirik, cutting off supply to over 20,000 people — a crisis residents said now compounds with the region's usual seasonal water shortages as summer temperatures push past 45C.
For many along the coast, the strikes have revived a familiar dilemma: fishing families dependent on daily maritime work say they lack the means to relocate for any extended period, even as uncertainty grows over what comes next.
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The Guardian reported that some residents also fear a repeat of the near three-month internet shutdown Iranian authorities imposed after the last round of fighting — a blackout only partially eased in May, by which point many had already lost income during the outage.
Beyond the physical destruction, residents described a psychological toll from the on-again, off-again nature of the conflict.
One Bandar Abbas resident told the Guardian that a fragile ceasefire had allowed a brief return of calm before the renewed strikes reignited despair and a sense of being trapped in uncertainty about how long the situation might drag on.
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