Iran shot down a US fighter jet for the first time in the war and targeted more sites, including energy facilities, in Arab Gulf states overnight and into Friday.
American forces have launched a search and rescue operation for the two-person crew of the F-15 jet, according to a US official familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named discussing the sensitive matter.
The New York Times, which reported earlier that a fighter jet was downed, said the fate of the crew was unclear. The US military and the White House didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
The first known combat loss of a US or Israeli fighter jet would mark a significant blow to the alliance after a war of almost five weeks that has triggered a global energy crisis.
Gas Site Struck
Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported Friday that Iran had shot down a "highly advanced American fighter jet." Other Iranian media published photos showing what they said was wreckage of a down jet.
The Iranian government is yet to comment on the incident.
It came as Iran kept up attacks across the region and hours after US President Donald Trump renewed threats against Iranian infrastructure.
The United Arab Emirates' largest natural gas processing facility, Habshan, suspended operations after debris from a projectile interception sparked a fire. Hours earlier, a drone attack set ablaze Kuwait's Mina Al Ahmadi oil refinery, with a capacity of 346,000 barrels a day.
Kuwait also reported damage to a power and water desalination plant after an attack early on Friday, and Saudi Arabia said it intercepted several drones in the early morning.
On Thursday, Trump posted a video of a destroyed bridge and said there would be "much more to follow" if Iran didn't agree to a deal to end the almost five-week old conflict, which has caused a global energy crisis.
Iran remained defiant, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying strikes on civilian structures "will not compel Iranians to surrender." The country has shown little sign of accepting Trump's demands for peace and has laid out its own conditions -- most of them unacceptable to the US and Israel.
CNN reported that about half of Iran's missile launchers are still intact -- despite more than 12,000 US and Israeli strikes since they began the war in late February -- and that thousands of one-way attack drones remain in Iran's arsenal. The assessment may include launchers that are currently inaccessible even if they are not destroyed, CNN said, citing three sources familiar with the matter.
Trump signaled this week he may be willing to pull US forces out of the conflict in two to three weeks, even if the vital Strait of Hormuz is still effectively shut. But he has vacillated in his messaging since then.
"With a little more time, we can easily OPEN THE HORMUZ STRAIT, TAKE THE OIL,& MAKE A FORTUNE," Trump said early Friday in a post on Truth Social.
US allies in Europe, the Middle East and Asia are stepping up efforts to ensure the waterway -- through which one fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas supplies normally flow -- is reopened soon.
More than 40 of them met virtually on Thursday to discuss plans, in a signal to Trump of their concern about the crisis triggered by the closure, with prices of energy and other commodities soaring in the past month.
The group was clear any ceasefire talks with Iran needed to include a solution for Hormuz, people familiar with the discussions said. Still, the meeting showed the coalition of countries deem it necessary to begin preparations for having to reopen the strait without the US. Nations such as France and the UK have said military options are unlikely to work and a ceasefire is needed.
The United Nations Security Council was set to vote on Friday on a resolution that would support a range of measures to reopen Hormuz.
Bahrain, supported by Jordan and Arab Gulf states such as the United Arab Emirates, is proposing the resolution, according to the UAE. It would provide "a clear legal basis for all states to mobilize and support safe passage," the UAE said in a post on X.
Yet Russia, an Iranian ally, pushed back on the initiative. It "is unlikely to improve the chances of a peaceful settlement" and may instead "legitimize aggression against Iran", Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday.
The comments signal Moscow may use its veto, which it is granted as one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council.
Hormuz remains all but shut. Iran appeared to tighten its grip on Thursday when its media reported that the government is drafting a protocol with Oman to monitor traffic. That would require shippers to pay tolls to Iran, according to the country's deputy foreign minister. Oman, which sits on the other side of the strait from Iran, is yet to comment on the reports.
The passage is officially in international waters and any attempt by Iran to assert control over traffic will be strongly opposed by Western powers and Gulf Arab states.
A trickle of ships is managing to pass through. A container ship signaling French ownership has recently exited the Persian Gulf, in what appears to be the first known transit by a vessel linked to Western Europe since the war began.
In another unusual move, an LNG tanker made the passage hugging the Omani coastline instead of taking the northerly route at Tehran's behest.
Trump Wavers
Trump has swung between casting diplomatic efforts as productive, and threatening further destruction -- including on civilian and energy infrastructure. Earlier this week, he threatened to target Iran's energy facilities and water desalination plants if the strait stays shut -- a move that could constitute a war crime under the Geneva Conventions.
He previously said Iran has until April 6 to reopen Hormuz or have its power plants destroyed. It's unclear if that deadline is still in place.
The president is under increasing pressure from Americans to ease the energy shock, which has seen gasoline pump prices in the country surge to more than $4 a gallon on average. That's the highest level in almost four years.
Trump has insisted prices will drop quickly once the war is over. He says the conflict was necessary to prevent Iran getting a nuclear bomb -- something Tehran has always denied it wants -- and to destroy its stockpile of missiles.
A prolonged conflict carries political risks for Trump and his Republican Party as the November midterm elections approach. Polls show significant numbers of Americans disapprove of military operations against Iran and rising concerns about economic impacts from the war.
More than 5,000 people have been killed in the conflict so far, almost three-quarters of them in Iran, according to government organizations and the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. Just over 1,300 people have been killed in Lebanon, where Israel is fighting a parallel war against Iran-allied Hezbollah.