New Delhi: The US carried out a fresh round of airstrikes on Iran for the ninth consecutive night, targeting sites that Washington said were linked to threats against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
The latest attacks came as the conflict widened across the Middle East, with Iran launching retaliatory strikes against US-linked military positions in several countries.
The US Central Command said the strikes were intended to weaken Iran’s ability to target commercial vessels passing through the strategic waterway, a vital route for global oil supplies.
According to guardian.com, missile strikes were reported in several Iranian cities, including Tabriz, Chabahar, Konarak, Bandar Mahshahr, and Bandar Imam Khomeini. Explosions were also reported in the affected areas, though the extent of the damage was not immediately clear.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for missile attacks on US military targets in Kuwait and said it had also targeted US aircraft at Jordan’s Aqaba airport.
The IRGC further announced a strike on what it described as an enemy special operations headquarters in Syria’s Al-Tanf region. Air raid sirens were also reported in Bahrain.
US President Donald Trump said the latest operation was conducted in memory of American service members killed during the recent escalation. Speaking to reporters after returning to Washington following the FIFA World Cup final, he said the strikes honoured what he described as “three great patriots.”
The US military confirmed that one service member died in northern Iraq during a controlled detonation involving a downed Iranian drone, while two others were killed in an earlier Iranian attack in Jordan. According to the US, 17 American military personnel have been killed and more than 420 wounded since the conflict began.
Iran’s Health Ministry said US attacks over the past three weeks have killed at least 50 people and injured more than 500 others.
The conflict also raised concerns over maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz. The UK Maritime Operations Centre said it had received a report of a vessel on fire off the coast of Oman. Separately, the IRGC claimed that two oil tankers were destroyed while attempting to pass through the southern route of the strait. The claim could not be independently verified.
The IRGC further warned that the Strait of Hormuz would remain unsafe for oil and petrochemical shipments as long as US military operations continued in the region. It also threatened further military action against American forces.
Separately, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Iran of using the Strait of Hormuz to pressure the international community and called on other countries to take stronger measures to safeguard global shipping routes.
The latest escalation pushed oil prices higher. Brent crude futures for September delivery rose 2.72% to USD90.50 a barrel in early Asian trading after briefly crossing USD91, its highest level since June.
Regional tensions continued to mount as Bahrain reported air raid sirens and the US Embassy warned that Iran could target unspecified locations in central Manama.
Following Iranian attacks on sites in Jordan, Israel warned that the conflict risked expanding further across the region, raising fears of a broader confrontation involving multiple countries.
