US expands Iran attacks as Trump warns Tehran and Houthis over Red Sea strikes | US-Israel war on Iran
The US has struck targets across Iran, as far as the Caspian Sea, as Donald Trump threatens “major military punishment” against Tehran and its Houthi allies in Yemen for expanding the war to a second shipping choke point at the entrance to the Red Sea.
Iran retaliated with missile and drone fire against US bases and allies in the region on Friday, the New York Times reported. Tehran rejects US ceasefire offer It was given by Iraqi prime minister Ali al-Zaidi. This was despite US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claiming a day earlier that Iran was begging for a ceasefire. Iraq later disputed the report.
Trump warned China and Russia on Friday against selling weapons to Iran, saying he believed assurances from Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin that they had not yet done so. Iran said it was holding consultations with both countries.
The US president wrote on the Truth Social network: “So the two major countries that people often talk about Iran, in my opinion, do not participate. If they did, it would be very bad for them; it would certainly not be in their interest.”
The Iranian military said it launched drone strikes on US military targets in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait on Friday morning as the fighting appeared to have no end in sight. Civilians in the area were told to stay 500 meters away from where US troops were located.
The Houthis, who control the north and west of Yemen, continued to impose a naval blockade on Saudi Arabian ports and ships using the Bab al-Mandeb Strait at the entrance of the Red Sea.
The Houthis insisted on Friday that only Saudi-linked trade was under blockade as ships in the Red Sea broadcast messages to the group identifying ownership, flag and crew in the hope of safe passage.
The Houthis struck two Saudi tankers in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait on Thursday, sending oil prices up 7% to above $100 a barrel for the first time since May. The attacks forced some other tankers to turn back and head north via the Suez Canal, a much longer and more expensive route around Africa to reach Asia.
Some companies on Thursday doubled shipping insurance costs across the southern Red Sea, sources said. Yet half of the 18 ships that left Bab al-Mandeb on Thursday were carrying crude oil; among them were two Chinese supertankers.
The number of tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz dropped to just one on Thursday, the lowest figure since May 7.
Trump wrote on social media that he would hold Iran responsible for a possible Red Sea attack and said, “Massive military penalties will be given to Iran and, of course, to the Houthis themselves.”
He told Axios that he was considering restarting a major war against Iran. “They haven’t suffered enough yet,” Trump said, as quoted by the US news outlet.
Washington and Tehran appear to be fundamentally at odds over future control of the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi insisted that the problem with advancing peace talks was the “American approach”.
Araghchi said: “Protecting Iran’s interests in the Strait of Hormuz is among our principles and we are committed to it. We are not afraid of threats and will not bow to pressure.
“It is natural that we will continue our efforts as long as the legitimate goals and demands of the Iranian people are not met.”
Iranian officials have previously suggested that the latest US offer includes an interim arrangement that does not take control of the Strait of Hormuz.
Pakistan, which is mediating in the conflict, is also pressuring for new talks between the two sides, with China’s initiative.
Sources said exploratory talks were held during Iranian interior minister Eskandar Momeni’s visit to Islamabad this week, his second in the last 10 days.
Iranian state media reported that US missiles hit Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran said it attacked US military equipment depots at Al-Adiri, officially called Camp Buehring, in northern Kuwait, and US troop positions at Camp Arifjan and Camp Doha near Kuwait City. It was also stated that a watchtower used by the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain was seriously damaged.
As an example of how war-induced shipping disruption has affected other countries, Coca-Cola increased prices of Diet Coke in India, sold mostly in aluminum cans, by more than 10% as the conflict overwhelmed its supply chain.
Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report
