ISLAMABAD (AP) — A 10th straight day of attacks between the United States and Iran across the Middle East on Tuesday overshadowed diplomatic efforts in Pakistan to salvage an interim ceasefire deal that collapsed.
Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni visited leaders in Pakistan, a key mediator in the conflict seeking to rejuvenate diplomacy. But it was unclear what new arrangement might be reached to end the war, which lately has become a battle for control over the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway vital to world energy supplies.
Speaking from the Oval Office, U.S. President Donald Trump gave a dim view on possible talks, saying the U.S. had “no interest in meeting.” He signaled that U.S. forces could soon target an area of Iran close to one of its main sites for enriching uranium.
With negotiations and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz largely stalled, both sides have sought to gain leverage by targeting civilian infrastructure in the region relied on by millions of people.
A barrage of U.S. strikes hasn’t loosened Iran’s grip on the strait, through which about one-fifth of the world’s crude oil and natural gas was shipped before the war.
The U.S. continued its airstrikes on the Islamic Republic Tuesday, and Iran attacked a tanker in the strait, forcing the crew to abandon the ship. Iran also kept up attacks against U.S. allies in the region. Sirens in Bahrain and Kuwait warned residents of incoming projectiles.
The escalation pushed energy prices higher. The international benchmark for crude oil traded Tuesday above $91 a barrel and regular gasoline in the U.S. climbed to an average of $4 a gallon.
With U.S. midterm elections approaching in the fall, polls have pointed to the unpopularity of the war among Americans, who have felt the pain of pricier gas and seen new casualties in a conflict that weeks ago seemed to be winding down.
Houthis open a new front in war in the Red Sea
In the Red Sea, Iran-backed Houthi rebels have opened a new front against Saudi Arabia by declaring a naval blockade of the kingdom, threatening the flow of global oil supplies and trade. 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.
A news agency in Yemen that is run by the Houthis, SABA, said Tuesday that six ships in the Red Sea were forced to reroute after they received warnings from the rebel group. The Associated Press could not immediately confirm the claim.
Three Houthi officials said the group warned international shipping companies on Monday to avoid transiting in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the gateway to the Red Sea at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they weren’t authorized to speak to journalists.
Trump says U.S. has ‘no interest’ in Iran talks
Momeni, Iran’s interior minister, met Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, according to two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations. Momeni later met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
In a statement, Sharif expressed deep concern over the recent escalation between the U.S. and Iran, and he urged all sides to exercise restraint and avoid actions that could further destabilize the region.
Pakistan’s political leadership and Munir, who serves as both the chief of army staff and defense forces, played a key role in brokering last month’s interim agreement between the United States and Iran. Islamabad has been working to persuade both sides to return to the negotiating table.
Trump told reporters that Iranian officials “want to desperately meet. And until they’re ready to meet in a meaningful way, we have no interest in meeting.” He said the U.S. would soon target the area near Pickaxe Mountain — a fortified underground site near one of Iran’s primary nuclear enrichment facilities.
A deep level of mistrust persists on both sides. Iran came under a surprise attack in June 2025 and again in February while it was engaging in nuclear negotiations with the U.S. The interim deal unraveled when Iran resumed attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, which was supposed to be reopened under the agreement.
US strikes come as ships attacked
The U.S. 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.
Iranian state media reported that explosions were heard in Fars, Hormozgan, Ilam, Kerman, and Sistan and Baluchistan provinces.
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 U.S. military has encouraged ships to travel to avoid Iran’s control.
Iran strikes US allies around the region
Tehran also hit U.S.-allied countries throughout the Middle East.
Jordan’s military said Tuesday that Iran targeted it with five drones and three missiles, all of which were shot down. Bahrain sounded its missile alert sirens Tuesday afternoon as another Iranian barrage targeted the island kingdom, which is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.
In Iraq, flights were temporarily suspended at Irbil International Airport after a wave of attacks targeted the capital of the semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region, according to the country’s state-run news agency. No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but in the past both Iran and Iran-backed militias have launched attacks in the Kurdish region, where U.S. troops are present.
The Kuwaiti government said Iran had struck desalination and power plants for a fourth straight day on Monday night. Authorities said the attacks sparked fires and caused damage.
Some 90% of Kuwait’s drinking water comes from desalination, making the attacks a matter of life and death for the tiny nation.
U.S. strikes have been hitting electrical equipment in Iran as well, and Iranian officials also have said Americans targeted water facilities.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the attacks on civilian infrastructure “unacceptable” and a violation of international law.
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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Fatma Khaled in Cairo, Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut, Collin Binkley in Washington, and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed.