Iran attacked a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz early Tuesday, forcing its crew to abandon the ship, while the United States conducted yet another round of airstrikes targeting the Iran as they struggle over control of the key waterway.
The 10 consecutive nights of US airstrikes haven’t compelled Tehran to loosen its grip on the strait, through which about a fifth of all crude oil and natural gas traded once passed in peacetime.
Even as the US and Iran inch closer to all-out war again, Iran’s interior minister traveled to Pakistan, a key mediator in the conflict, for talks. However, it remains unclear just what new deal could be reached to end the fighting.
The interim deal signed last month that was meant to end the fighting has crumbled. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has largely stalled. And as fighting intensifies, both sides have targeted civilian infrastructure relied on by millions of people.
“Iran and groups supportive of Iran may target other US interests overseas or at locations associated with the United States and Americans throughout the world,” the US State Department said in a new warning to Americans.
The escalation has pushed oil prices higher in recent weeks. Benchmark Brent crude traded Tuesday above $88 a barrel and regular gasoline in the US climbed to an average of $4 a gallon, keeping pressure on Americans’ wallets ahead of midterm elections this fall.
Meanwhile, 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 strikes come as ships attacked
The US military’s Central Command said Tuesday it targeted “Iranian military command centers, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and air defense systems.” It released more footage of bombings that targeted sites in Iran.
“American forces remain postured and prepared to hold Iran accountable for unwarranted aggression toward civilian mariners seeking to freely and openly transit the strait,” the command said.
However, traffic through the strait has slowed to crawl with the latest violence. The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said a tanker came under attack early Tuesday in the strait off Oman, forcing the crew to abandon the vessel.
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed the attack, as well as two other attacks on ships Monday in the waterway.
The route around Oman has been the one the US military has encouraged ships to travel to avoid Iran’s control.
Tehran also hit US-allied countries throughout the Middle East. Jordan military's said Tuesday that Iran targeted it with five drones, all of which were shot down.
Nearly 100 US injuries since early July
The Pentagon’s chief spokesperson said nearly 100 US service members have been injured since the US restarted strikes on July 7, and 96% 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 night with the latest attacks.
A glimmer of hope for diplomacy Pakistan has intensified diplomatic efforts in recent days to resuscitate the interim deal.
Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni arrived in Islamabad on Monday for two days of talks with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and others.
On Sunday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that the US is still open to negotiating with Iran but that “it has to be real.”
“If the door opens to diplomacy — if the guys that want to do something productive for Iran win and take control of that system, or take control of the negotiations — that’ll be a very positive development,” Rubio said. “That’s not where we are tonight, unfortunately.”
Iranian authorities on Sunday said at least 50 people have been killed and 517 wounded in the latest rounds of US strikes. Since the war began on Feb. 28, 17 US service members have been killed.
