Iran attacked a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz early on Tuesday, forcing its crew to abandon the ship even as the United States conducted yet another round of airstrikes targeting the Islamic Republic over control of the key waterway.
The 10 consecutive nights of US airstrikes have not 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 travelled 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, which 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 U.S. 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 on Tuesday above 88 dollars (£65) a barrel and regular gasoline in the US climbed to an average of 4 dollars (£2.98) a gallon, keeping pressure on Americans’ wallets ahead of midterm elections this autumn.
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!”
Mr 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 early on Tuesday it targeted “Iranian military command centres, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and air defence 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 a crawl with the latest violence.
The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said a tanker came under attack early on 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 on 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.
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Kuwait said its air defences fired at an incoming barrage, and Jordan’s armed forces said on Monday evening they had shot down three Iranian missiles, adding that there had been no material damage or casualties.
Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry condemned Iranian drone strikes targeting the country’s air traffic systems, saying they endanger travel for civilians.
The Pentagon’s chief spokesman 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 on 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 Defence 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.