US attacks Iran for 10th consecutive night, another tanker hit in Hormuz

The British military said a tanker came under attack early Tuesday in the Strait of Hormuz off Oman, the latest assault to target shipping in the strategic waterway.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said the ship reported over the radio it had been hit by an unknown projectile.

Two other ships were attacked in the strait over the last day, with Iran' paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claiming those assaults.

A fifth of all oil and natural gas that was traded passed through the Strait of Hormuz in peacetime, but Iran has maintained a chokehold on the waterway since the start of the war on Feb. 28.

 

Recent rounds of attacks between Iran and the United States come as the two countries vie for control of the strait.

The United States military said late Monday it was carrying out its 10th consecutive night of strikes on Iran in a push to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The renewed bombings followed the death of another American service member, and came after Iran launched attacks on American allies Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain, home of the US Navy's 5th Fleet.

US Central Command said on social media that the latest strikes "are designed to further degrade Iranian military capabilities used to attack commercial shipping" in the strait.

Even as the US and Iran inch closer to all-out war again, glimmers of hope appeared on the diplomatic front, as Iran's interior minister traveled to Pakistan, a key mediator in the conflict, for talks.

The interim deal signed last month that was meant to end the fighting has crumbled. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz - a vital supply route for world energy supplies - has largely stalled. And as fighting intensifies, both sides have targeted civilian infrastructure relied on by millions of people.

The escalation has pushed oil prices higher in recent weeks. Benchmark Brent crude traded Monday above $88 a barrel and regular gasoline in the US climbed to an average of USD 4 a gallon, keeping pressure on Americans' wallets ahead of midterm elections this fall.

A new potential threat to energy markets emerged Monday after Iran-backed rebels in Yemen said they planned to prevent Saudi Arabia from shipping in the Red Sea, an alternate route for oil exports during the war.

The US military identified two soldiers who were killed in Jordan in attacks that left a third person missing. Separately, the military confirmed another death in Iraq on Saturday during the "controlled detonation" of a downed Iranian drone. President Donald Trump took to social media on Monday to warn that "Every time Iran kills an American Soldier they will pay for that killing many times over!"  Trump was planning to attend a ceremony on Tuesday evening at Dover Air Force Base, where at least one service member's remains were due to arrive.

US targets strategic sites in Iran

US 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 struck bridges and a tower at an Iranian port.

Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported that the American strikes killed at least one person around Tabriz, a northwestern city about 520 kilometers (325 miles) from the capital, Tehran. Tabriz is believed to host underground missile bases run by Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

US strikes likely also hit Bandar Imam Khomeini in Khuzestan province, Sirik and Jask in Hormozgan province and Konarak and Chahbahar in Sistan and Baluchistan province, IRNA reported.

The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said Monday evening that a second ship had been attacked a day earlier in the Strait of Hormuz, this one off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.

The other vessel caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz after being hit by a projectile near the coastline of Oman. The crew abandoned the vessel, which was adrift and still ablaze hours later, the UKMTO said.

The route around Oman has been the one the US military has encouraged ships to travel to avoid Iran's control. The Guard later claimed it was targeting tankers in the strait.

Tehran also hit US-allied countries throughout the West Asia.

Kuwait said its air defences fired at an incoming barrage, and Jordan's armed forces said Monday evening they had shot down three Iranian missiles, adding that there had been no material damage or casualties. Bahrain's Foreign Ministry condemned Iranian drone strikes targeting the country's air traffic systems, saying they endanger travel for civilians.

Nearly 100 US injuries since early July

The Pentagon's chief spokesman said nearly 100 US service members have been injured since the US restarted strikes on July 7, and 96 per cent of them have returned to duty.

"The vast majority of injuries experienced were minor concussions," Sean Parnell posted Monday on X in response to a New York Times report that the Pentagon has withheld information about troop injuries from Iranian strikes. He denied that the Pentagon was hiding data about injuries.

However, the Defense Casualty Analysis System, the military's clearinghouse for reporting deaths and injuries in conflict, has not been updated as of Monday evening with the latest attacks that left three US troops dead and others injured.