DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Early Monday morning, the United States carried out a fresh wave of airstrikes against Iran, hours after military officials announced the death of another American service member. Iran fired back, launching an attack against Bahrain — the headquarters of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.
The latest round of strikes marks the ninth straight night of U.S. military action, and the escalating exchange between Washington and Tehran is pushing the two nations ever closer to full-scale war. A temporary agreement reached last month to end the fighting has fallen apart, and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has nearly ground to a halt. Both countries have struck civilian infrastructure that millions of people depend on. Meanwhile, benchmark Brent crude oil climbed past $90 per barrel Monday, adding to an already severe global energy crisis driven by the ongoing conflict.
According to the U.S. military, the American service member died in Iraq on Saturday during what officials described as a “controlled detonation” of an Iranian drone that had been shot down.
President Donald Trump addressed the strikes, saying, “We hit them very hard again tonight. And we did that in honor of the” soldiers who lost their lives.
The U.S. military’s Central Command confirmed the new strikes and said they focused on “Iranian military command centers, air defense and coastal surveillance sites, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and communications networks.” Iran did not immediately report any casualties or damage, though Iranian state media said residents in southern and northwestern parts of the country heard explosions.
As the strikes got underway, a vessel caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz near the Omani coastline early Monday, according to the British military. The cause of the blaze was not immediately clear. Oman’s waters have been a path the U.S. military has urged ships to use to avoid Iranian-controlled areas. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard later said it was targeting tankers in the strait.
Iran has continued to strike back against U.S.-allied nations across the Middle East. Trump has threatened to go after Iran’s power stations and bridges in an effort to pressure Tehran into releasing its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, which once carried about one-fifth of the world’s traded oil before the war broke out. Recent strikes suggest the military is now following through on that threat.
Over the past week, the U.S. has reinstated a naval blockade on Iranian ports to cut off its crude oil exports. As of Saturday, the military said it had redirected six ships and disabled one vessel since the blockade resumed.
More than 30 days have now passed in the 60-day window established by the earlier deal — time set aside to work out a permanent end to the war and address other matters, including Iran’s nuclear program.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Monday that the United States remains willing to negotiate with Iran, but stressed that any talks “have 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 officials reported Sunday that at least 50 people have been killed and 517 others wounded in the most recent rounds of U.S. strikes. Since the conflict began on February 28, a total of 17 U.S. service members have died.
