US launches 10th straight night of strikes on Iran as Hormuz crisis deepens

Dubai, Jul 21 (AP) 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 came following the death of another American service member, and 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.

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.

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

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.

The US military's Central Command said its ninth straight night of 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 U.S. 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.

U.S. 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 U.S. 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 Middle East.

Kuwait said its air defenses 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. There was no immediate word from Iran.

Bahrain's Foreign Ministry condemned Iranian drone strikes targeting the country's air traffic systems, saying they endanger travel for civilians.

A new pressure point could emerge for world energy markets as Yemen's Houthi rebels announced on Monday a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia. The Houthis, who are backed by Iran, said they would block shipping between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in response to an attack on Sanaa International Airport last week that they blamed on Saudi Arabia.

With the Strait of Hormuz blocked up, Saudi Arabia has been relying on a pipeline to the Red Sea to get millions of barrels of oil out to market. The Houthis earlier demonstrated their ability to disrupt shipping there when they targeted ships for months over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, with over 100 vessels attacked.

There was no immediate response from Saudi Arabia.

Trump has threatened to target Iran's power stations and bridges to try to compel Tehran to loosen its hold on the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of world oil supplies were shipped before the war. Recent attacks suggest the US military is carrying out that plan.

The US in the past week reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports to halt its shipments of crude oil. The military says it has redirected seven ships and disabled one since then. (AP)