- About 100 American soldiers have been injured since July 7.
- The Houthis threaten to blockade the Saudi port.
- Oil prices rise amid tensions in Hormuz.
The United States and Iran traded attacks for the 10th consecutive night, as tensions between the two countries continued to rise and the conflict threatened to widen with a blockade of Saudi ports by the Houthis in Yemen.
Iran attacked US radar and air defense facilities in the Gulf on Tuesday, warning Washington of “more decisive and powerful” attacks.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it had attacked and detained two “non-compliant” tankers attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz, as part of an effort to tighten its control over the vital waterway as war reignited.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it also attacked infrastructure belonging to the US company Amazon in Bahrain, according to a statement carried by state media.
There was no official confirmation from Bahrain. Reuters was unable to independently verify the incident.
The US military said it completed its latest round of strikes against Iran, saying it hit military command centers, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and Iranian air defense systems.
US Central Command made the announcement in a post on the social media website X.
Following the deaths of at least three American soldiers in recent days, the United States launched a new round of strikes against Iran on Monday night that it said were “designed to further degrade Iranian military capabilities used to attack commercial ships” in the strait.
Hours later, the Iranian military said it had attacked US assets in Kuwait and Bahrain, including air defense systems, radar facilities and administrative buildings.
“With this radar sweep, the enemy should prepare for even more decisive and powerful waves of drone and missile strikes,” the Guards said in a statement carried by the state news agency. IRNA.
US President Donald Trump warned on Monday that Iran would pay “many times more” for each US soldier killed, while Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the conflict had become “a full-scale war”.
Nearly 100 U.S. service members have been injured since July 7, the Pentagon said Monday, most with minor concussions.
Red Sea Threat
Meanwhile, the Houthis threatened a major expansion of the war and announced they would blockade Saudi ports.
Such a move by the Houthis would jeopardize Riyadh’s ability to avoid the Strait of Hormuz flashpoint for some of its oil exports and would have significant repercussions on the global economy.
Saudi Arabia and the Houthis exchanged fire last week for the first time in years, threatening a truce in 2022, but the Yemeni group has largely stayed on the sidelines since Israel and the United States attacked Iran in late February.
Saudi Arabia strongly condemned the threat from what it called the “Houthi terrorist militia” and said it “continues to support the brotherly Yemeni people and their legitimate government.”
The war in the Middle East resumed after a ceasefire in April and a framework agreement in June collapsed.
Tehran reimposed its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and Washington responded by again blocking Iran’s ports.
Oil prices briefly rose to a one-month high on Monday before falling slightly early Tuesday as enemies fight to control the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil passed in peacetime.
Although far below pre-war totals, Saudi Arabia has been able to continue exporting millions of barrels of oil per day through its Red Sea port of Yanbu.
Oil markets have feared for months that the Houthis would again attack shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, as they did during the Gaza war, which could cut off even more crude from global markets.
The Houthis, who have been at war with Riyadh for more than a decade, have not said how they will enforce their blockade.
Diplomatic exchanges
Meanwhile, in the Strait of Hormuz, the Revolutionary Guard reported Tuesday that two oil tankers attempting to cross the strait “were hit by explosions, causing massive fires that paralyzed them.”
The UK Maritime Trade Operations Agency (UKMTO) previously reported that an “unknown projectile” hit a tanker off the coast of Oman.
On Tuesday, the UKMTO reported that another oil tanker off the coast of Oman had been hit by a projectile.
Despite the latest fighting, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said diplomatic exchanges with Washington through mediators were ongoing.
Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni is in Islamabad for a two-day visit during which he will meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defense Forces (CDF) Asim Munir, the Interior Ministry said.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun will meet Trump in Washington on Tuesday as pressure mounts for Beirut to disarm Hezbollah, Israel’s key condition before withdrawing from southern Lebanon.
