The U.S. military said late Monday it was carrying out airstrikes for the 10th straight night Iran in a push to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The renewed bombings followed the death of another American soldier and came after Iran launched attacks on American allies Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet.
U.S. Central Command said on social media that the latest attacks were “aimed at further weakening Iran’s military capabilities used to attack merchant vessels” in the strait.
Even like the USA and Iran Inches closer to total war There were once again glimmers of hope on the diplomatic front as Iran’s interior minister traveled to Pakistan, a key mediator in the conflict, for talks.
The tentative deal The agreement signed last month to end the fighting has failed. Shipping by the Strait of Hormuz – an important supply route for global energy supply – has largely stalled. And as fighting intensifies, both sides have targeted the civilian infrastructure that millions of people rely on.
The following Monday, a new potential threat to world energy markets emerged Iran-backed rebels in Yemen said they wanted to prevent Saudi Arabia from recording shipping losses seaan alternative route for wartime oil exports.
The escalation has driven oil prices higher in recent weeks. Benchmark Brent crude traded above $88 a barrel on Monday and regular gasoline in the U.S. rose to an average of $4 a gallon, putting further pressure on Americans’ wallets ahead of the fall midterm elections.
The US military identified two soldiers killed in Jordan in attacks that left a third person missing. Separately, the military confirmed another death in Iraq on Saturday in the “controlled detonation” of a downed Iranian drone. President Donald Trump warned on social media on Monday: “Every time Iran kills an American soldier, it will pay many times over for that killing!”
Trump had planned to attend a ceremony Tuesday evening at Dover Air Force Base, where the remains of at least one service member were expected to arrive.
The US is targeting strategic locations in Iran
U.S. Central Command said Sunday’s airstrikes targeted “Iranian military command centers, air defense and coastal surveillance sites, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and communications networks.” Last week, the US attacked bridges and a tower at an Iranian port.
Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported that at least one person was killed in the American strikes near Tabriz, a northwestern city about 520 kilometers (325 miles) from the capital Tehran. Tabriz is believed to be home to underground missile bases operated by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
IRNA reported that US strikes also likely hit Bandar Imam Khomeini in Khuzestan province, Sirik and Jask in Hormozgan province, and Konarak and Chahbahar in Sistan and Balochistan province.
The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said on Monday evening that a day earlier a second ship had been attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, this one off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.
The other ship caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz after being hit by a projectile near the coast of Oman. The crew abandoned the ship, which drifted and was still ablaze hours later, the UKMTO said.
The route around Oman was the one recommended by the US military for ships to avoid Iranian control. The Guard later claimed it was targeting tankers in the strait.
Tehran also hit US-allied countries across the Middle East.
Kuwait said its air defenses fired at an incoming barrage and Jordanian forces said Monday evening they shot down three Iranian missiles, adding there was no material damage or casualties. There was no immediate word from Iran.
Bahrain’s foreign ministry condemned Iranian drone attacks on the country’s air traffic systems, saying they endanger civilian travel.
The Strait of Hormuz remains key to the conflict
A new pressure point could emerge for global energy markets as Yemen’s Houthi rebels announced a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia on Monday. The Iran-backed Houthis said they would block shipping between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in response to an attack on Sanaa international airport last week that they blamed on Saudi Arabia.
With the Strait of Hormuz blocked, Saudi Arabia relies on a pipeline to the Red Sea to bring millions of barrels of oil to market. The Houthis have previously demonstrated their ability to disrupt shipping there when they attacked ships for months in connection with the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, attacking over 100 vessels.
There was no immediate reaction from Saudi Arabia.
Trump has threatened to attack Iran’s power plants and bridges to force Tehran to loosen its control over the Strait of Hormuz, which shipped a fifth of the world’s oil before the war. Recent attacks suggest that the US military is putting this plan into action.
The US reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports last week to stop its crude oil shipments. The military says it has since diverted seven ships and disabled one.
A glimmer of hope for diplomacy
Pakistan has intensified diplomatic efforts to revive it in recent days the temporary ceasefire Last month, a resolution was passed calling for remaining issues related to the war to be resolved within 60 days. The ceasefire dissolved after both sides resumed attacks on each other’s military facilities and other infrastructure.
Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni arrived in Islamabad on Monday for two days of talks with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and others. Momeni’s counterpart, Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, was optimistic.
“God willing, we will have good news,” Naqvi said.
On Sunday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that the US was still open to negotiations with Iran but that “it has to be real.”
“If the door opens to diplomacy — if the people who want to do something productive for Iran win and take control of that system or the negotiations — that would be a very positive development,” Rubio said. “Unfortunately we won’t be there tonight.”
Iranian authorities said on Sunday at least 50 people were killed and 517 injured in the latest US strikes. Since the war began on February 28, 17 US soldiers have been killed.