US Strikes Iran 11th Night as Hormuz Conflict Widens
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- US military launched strikes on Iran for an 11th consecutive night early Wednesday while Pakistani mediators tried to revive a collapsed interim ceasefire, with fighting increasingly centered on the Strait of Hormuz.
- Trump signaled the campaign would intensify by targeting the area near Pickaxe Mountain — a fortified underground site near Iran's main nuclear enrichment facility — while telling reporters the US has "no interest in meeting" Iranian officials who "want to desperately meet."
- Iran's armed forces warned that any attack on nuclear or "other sensitive facilities" would trigger attacks on all US, allied, and supporter interests across the region.
- Iran's Revolutionary Guard claimed responsibility for attacking a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz off Oman, forcing the crew to abandon the vessel, plus two other ship attacks in the waterway on Monday.
- Crude oil traded above $91 a barrel on Tuesday while US regular petrol hit an average of $4 a gallon, and US wounded personnel rose to "well over 500" — exceeding the Pentagon's official figure of 482, which lags due to reporting system design.
- Houthi rebels declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea and warned international shipping companies to avoid the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, with six ships rerouting according to Houthi-run SABA news agency.
- Kuwait said Iran struck its desalination and power plants for a fourth straight day — critical since about 90% of the country's drinking water comes from desalination — while UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called attacks on civilian infrastructure "unacceptable" under international law.
Why it matters: The conflict has spread beyond Hormuz: Iran has hit Kuwait's desalination plants — which supply 90% of the country's drinking water — four nights running, and Houthis declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia. With crude above $91, petrol at $4/gallon, and US casualties exceeding the Pentagon's official 482 count, the war's economic and human toll deepens despite Pakistani mediation.
