US strikes Iran and Bahrain warns of incoming fire as clashes over shipping routes escalate
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The U.S. military announced the 13th night of strikes against Iran as clashes escalate over shipping routes. The attacks came after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, potentially widening the Iran war as international oil topped $100 a barrel
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A group of people stands in shallow water as a cargo ship appears anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA
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The U.S. military announced the 13th night of strikes against Iran as clashes escalate over shipping routes. The attacks came after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, potentially widening the Iran war as international oil topped $100 a barrel
2 of 2 |
A group of people stands in shallow water as a cargo ship appears anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA
2 of 2
A group of people stands in shallow water as a cargo ship appears anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA
By
JULIA FRANKEL
Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year]
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JERUSALEM (AP) — Bahrain activated its sirens early Friday, warning residents to shelter from detected fire hours after the U.S. military said it had wrapped up its 13th night of strikes against Iran
The Gulf states have come under frequent fire over the past week as the U.S. and Iran exchange escalating strikes in fighting that began with a struggle over control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Iranian state media reported that four people had been killed and nine injured in the bombardment
The previous day, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they targeted two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, potentially widening the Iran war as international oil topped $100 a barrel
U.S. Central Command said the latest barrage was designed to “further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters” as the Americans push to regain control over the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and gas transited in peacetime. It said the strikes ended shortly before 5 a.m. local time Friday
Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi of Iraq, which has close ties to both the U.S. and Iran, was in Tehran on Thursday to call for peace and dialogue. He promised not to allow Iraqi territory to be used for attacks on Iran, his office said. Al-Zaidi met with Trump earlier this month in Washington
US strikes sites across Iran
U.S. strikes hit a naval base for the Revolutionary Guard in the north of Iran, the Iranian semiofficial news outlets Fars and ISNA reported Friday morning. Blasts overnight were also reported on Iran’s Qeshm Island, home to stores of naval assets including drone boats that Iran can use to attack vessels on the Strait of Hormuz, as well as in Isfahan province, where there is a major Iranian air base as well as one of Iran’s nuclear sites. More strikes reportedly hit Iran’s southwest Khuzestan province and southern Fars province.
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Four people were killed and five wounded in a U.S. missile attack on the outskirts of Ahvaz on the Karun River, Iranian state media said. An attack in Lorestan province in Western Iran injured two, state media said, while two more were injured by explosions in the port city of Bandar Abbas, a critical hub for moving military supplies as well as trade cargo
Meanwhile, the Houthis threatened to shut down another key trade route with the world economy already reeling from Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz
The Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, is a vital shipping chokepoint connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. Around 12% of the world’s trade, including a fourth of global container traffic, passes through there, moving between Europe and Asia
The Houthi attacks put at risk oil shipments from Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu port on the Red Sea and present a “double whammy” on top of the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, said maritime data and analysis firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence. Saudi Arabia has diverted millions of barrels a day of oil exports to Yanbuulf
President Donald Trump threatened “major military punishment” against the Houthis if their attacks on ships continue
As the rhetoric escalated, so did economic fallout. The price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, spiked more than 6% to about $100 a barrel. That’s the highest level since May, before the two sides reached a preliminary peace agreement last month that has since collapsed
Both sides dig in over Strait of Hormuz
Iran says it has the right to manage traffic and potentially charge fees in the Strait of Hormuz, which was open to all toll-free before the war. It has attacked ships using a route through the strait that is overseen by U.S. forces and intended to be outside Tehran’s control
Trump said on social media Thursday that sanctioned Iranian funds in the possession of the U.S. will cover the expense of fixing boats damaged in the war
“Please let this statement serve to represent, until further notice, that from this point forth, any and all damages done to Ships, Cargo, or anything related thereto, will be paid for by Iranian Money that the United States has in its possession, and controls,” Trump said
It was unclear what legal mechanisms Trump would use to access and spend the funds, but he said that doing so would be “the fair and equitable thing to do.”
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the suggestion, writing on X that “once governments normalize confiscation, no one’s assets are safe. Ensuing chaos will not be pretty or peaceful.”
JULIA FRANKEL
