US airstrikes on Iran enter tenth night
The United States military has launched its 10th consecutive night of airstrikes on Iran, in an effort to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The renewed bombings follow the death of another American service member and come after Iran launched attacks on American allies Kuwait, Jordan, and Bahrain.
The latest strikes are designed to further degrade Iranian military capabilities used to attack commercial shipping in the strait. U.S. Central Command said on social media that the strikes “are designed to further degrade Iranian military capabilities used to attack commercial shipping” in the strait.
The conflict between the U.S. and Iran has escalated in recent weeks, with both sides targeting civilian infrastructure relied on by millions of people. The Strait of Hormuz, a vital supply route for world energy supplies, has largely stalled, and shipping through the strait has been severely disrupted.
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A new potential threat to world 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. This has pushed oil prices higher in recent weeks, with benchmark Brent crude trading Monday above $88 a barrel and regular gasoline in the U.S. climbing to an average of $4 a gallon.
The U.S. military has 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!”
Despite the escalation in the conflict, there are glimmers of hope on the diplomatic front. Iran’s interior minister traveled to Pakistan, a key mediator in the conflict, for talks.
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The conflict has already had a significant impact on world energy markets, with oil prices rising sharply in recent weeks. The Red Sea maritime embargo announced by Yemen’s Houthi rebels could further disrupt oil supplies and drive up prices.
The situation in the Strait of Hormuz remains volatile. 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 diplomatic efforts underway may provide a glimmer of hope, but it’s likely that the conflict will continue to escalate in the coming days. The U.S. and Iran are engaged in a complex and sensitive conflict, and it’s unclear what the future holds.
