DUBAI, July 18 (BSS/AFP) - Hostilities between the United States and Iran continued overnight Friday into Saturday, as both sides exchanged fire and the strategic Strait of Hormuz remained virtually closed.

Here are the latest developments as of early Saturday:

- Casualties reported -

Iranian state-controlled IRNA news agency said Saturday that US strikes had killed three and wounded eight people in Hormozgan, a province in the country's south.

- Tankers 'hit mines' -

Two oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz struck mines and exploded, according to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, who also said that they had "stopped" four ships attempting to transit the strategic passage.

The Guards said the tankers that hit mines were directed by "deceptive American intelligence agencies" and had caught fire.

- Blasts in central Iran -

Five explosions were heard in the central Iranian city of Yazd shortly after US strikes were announced, according to the IRNA state news agency.

Mehr, another state-controlled agency, reported explosions "in several provinces in the south" of the country.

- Latest US strikes -

The US launched strikes for the seventh consecutive night around 1900 GMT, with US Central Command saying they were intended to "continue degrading Iranian military capabilities."

- 'Full-scale offensive' -

Tehran threatened to resume "full-scale offensive operations" if US strikes continue over the coming days, Major General Mohsen Rezaei said, according to state-controlled news agency IRIB.

"Iran will no longer limit itself to retaliatory, like-for-like responses ... and no political border will be safe," he said.

- UN chief condemnation -

UN chief Antonio Guterres called attacks on civilian infrastructure in Iran and elsewhere in the region "unacceptable".

- Climbing toll -

Iranian state media reported Friday at least eight people killed and 20 wounded in US attacks.

Iranian authorities urged citizens to cut back on electricity use, including air conditioners, after saying the grid was under strain from US strikes on power facilities.

- Gulf countries hit -

Kuwait reported an Iranian attack on a power and water plant and said seven of its military personnel had been wounded in a drone attack on army facilities.

Bahrain and Qatar also said they had intercepted missiles.

- Oil higher -

The virtual closure of the Strait of Hormuz sent oil higher, with Brent crude back above $86 a barrel.

"The ongoing conflict, combined with threats to major shipping routes such as the Strait of Hormuz and potentially the Red Sea, has increased uncertainty across global financial markets," said Trade Nation analyst David Morrison.

- Iranian Kurdish rebels hit -

Drone and rocket strikes killed nine members of an Iranian Kurdish armed opposition group in Iraq's Kurdistan region, the exiled party said, blaming the attack on Iran.

- Iran presses on -

Tehran will not halt its attacks in the region until the US stops striking Iran's southern coastline and the Strait of Hormuz, the commander of the Aerospace Force in Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Majid Mousavi, vowed in a social media post.