DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United States conducted a new round of airstrikes early Monday targeting Iran after announcing the death of another American service member. Iran responded by launching an attack targeting Bahrain, the home of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, and Kuwait.
The latest attacks again showed how, step by step, the U.S. and Iran have inched closer to all-out war as last month’s interim deal meant to permanently end the fighting has crumbled and shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has largely stalled. Both sides have targeted civilian infrastructure relied on by millions of people, while benchmark Brent crude rose Monday above $90 a barrel, further fueling a global energy crisis sparked by the conflict.
The U.S. military said the service member was killed in Iraq on Saturday during the “controlled detonation” of a downed Iranian drone.
“We hit them very hard again tonight,” U.S. President Donald Trump said. “And we did that in honor of the” soldiers killed, he said.
US launches ninth night of Iran strikes
The U.S. military’s Central Command announced a new round of strikes early Monday, now into their ninth straight night. Central Command said it targeted “Iranian military command centers, air defense and coastal surveillance sites, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and communications networks.”
There was no immediate word from Iran on any casualties or damage from the attacks. Iranian state media reported explosions being heard in southern and northwestern Iran.
As the strikes began, a ship caught fire early Monday in the Strait of Hormuz near the coastline of Oman, the British military said. It was unclear what sparked the blaze off Oman, which has been a route the U.S. military has encouraged ships to travel to avoid Iran’s control. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard later claimed it was targeting tankers in the strait.
Tehran has retaliated by hitting U.S.-allied countries throughout the Middle East. Bahrain sounded its missile alert sirens Monday morning, while Kuwait said its air defense were firing at an incoming Iranian barrage.
The Strait of Hormuz remains key to the conflict
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, which saw one-fifth of traded global oil supplies transit before the war. Recent attacks suggest the U.S. military is carrying out that plan.
The U.S. in the past week reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports to halt its shipments of crude oil. The military on Saturday said it had redirected six ships and disabled one since then.
The halfway point has passed in the 60 days the deal set out to negotiate the permanent end of the war and other issues, including Iran’s nuclear program.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that the U.S. is still open to negotiating with Iran but that “it has to be real.”
“We’re going to continue to respond. 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 U.S. strikes. Since the war began on Feb. 28, 17 U.S. service members have been killed.
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Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this report.
