CAIRO (AP) 鈥� The U.S. military launched the 13th night of strikes Thursday against Iran, targeting key military and commercial sites as clashes continued to escalate over shipping routes. The attacks came after Yemen鈥檚 Iran-backed said they targeted two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, potentially widening the Iran war as international oil .
Shortly after the new attacks were announced, Iranian state media reported explosions in the port city of Bandar Abbas, a critical hub for moving military supplies as well as trade cargo, where two people were reportedly injured.
Blasts were also reported on Qeshm Island, home to stores of naval assets including drone boats that Iran can use to attack vessels on , as well as to the northwest near Andimeshk, Omidiyeh and Firuzabad. 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.
U.S. Central Command said the latest barrage was designed to 鈥渇urther degrade Iran鈥檚 ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters鈥� as the Americans push to regain control over the strategic waterway through which a fifth of the world鈥檚 oil and gas transited in peacetime. It said the strikes ended shortly before 5 a.m. local time Friday.
Meanwhile, the Houthis threatened to shut down , with the world economy from Iran’s closure of the . Iran and the U.S. have stepped up attacks as they vie for control of the strait, .
President threatened 鈥渕ajor military punishment鈥� against the Houthis if their attacks on ships continue.
鈥淚f they do this again, the U.S. will hold Iran responsible, in that the Houthis are a Surrogate and/or Proxy of Iran, and major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis, themselves,鈥� Trump wrote on social media.
As the rhetoric escalated, so did the 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 .
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, and he promised not to allow Iraqi territory to be used for attacks on Iran, his office said. Al-Zaidi in Washington.
Houthi attacks are a 鈥榙ouble whammy鈥� on oil shipments
The Houthis’ SABA news agency said the rebels had struck two tankers, the Encelia and the Layla, in the Red Sea, causing fires on both. There were no reports of casualties.
It was the first reported Houthi attack on a vessel since they announced a blockade of Saudi-linked shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait earlier this week in retaliation for the kingdom鈥檚 blockade on Yemen and a on the international airport in Yemen鈥檚 rebel-held capital, Sanaa.
, 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鈥檚 trade, including a fourth of global container traffic, passes through there, moving between Europe and Asia via Egypt鈥檚 Suez Canal.
The state-run Saudi Press Agency reported an attack set the Encelia ablaze overnight in the Red Sea. It did not mention the Layla.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said it received a report of a tanker being struck by 鈥渁n unknown projectile鈥� 130 kilometers (80 miles) southwest of Al Shuqaiq, Saudi Arabia, in the Red Sea.
The Houthi attacks put at risk oil shipments from Saudi Arabia鈥檚 Yanbu port on the Red Sea and present a 鈥渄ouble whammy鈥� on top of the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, said maritime data and analysis firm Lloyd鈥檚 List Intelligence.
Saudi Arabia has diverted millions of barrels a day of oil exports to Yanbu via an overland pipeline as the war has bottled up the Persian Gulf.
The Houthi threat 鈥渞aises questions on the viability of this route,鈥� Lloyd鈥檚 said in slides accompanying an online webinar Thursday.
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鈥檚 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.
鈥淧lease 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,鈥� Trump said.
It was unclear what legal mechanisms Trump would use to seize and spend the funds, but he said that doing so would be 鈥渢he fair and equitable thing to do.鈥�
Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, said such a seizure of assets would be an 鈥渋ncendiary鈥� precedent.
“Those who celebrate or profit from such funds should remember: once governments normalize confiscation, no one鈥檚 assets are safe,” Abbas Araghchi said on social media early Friday. 鈥淓nsuing chaos will not be pretty or peaceful.鈥�
In response to Iran鈥檚 attacks, the U.S. began the widening campaign of strikes across Iran and restored a naval blockade of Iran’s ports. U.S. Central Command said it has redirected about a dozen commercial vessels and disabled one since the blockade resumed.
The war of words has also escalated. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran would adopt an 鈥渆ye for an eye鈥� policy on U.S. strikes against its infrastructure. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio retorted that Trump’s policy is 鈥渁 head for an eye.鈥�
鈥淭he price will continue to get higher every single night until they come to their senses,鈥� Rubio told reporters while traveling in the Philippines for .
Iran鈥檚 health ministry said Thursday that 55 people have been killed and 629 have been wounded since renewed U.S. airstrikes began on June 27.
Iran has responded to U.S. attacks by targeting energy infrastructure and providing drinking water in parched neighboring Gulf countries.
Polls have shown the war is unpopular among Americans, a fact reflected in the narrow passage Thursday of a . Though a handful of Republicans crossed party lines to support the measure, the vote remained largely symbolic.
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Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece, and Binkley from Washington. Associated Press writers Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Pakistan; Bassem Mroue in Beirut; Michelle L. Price and Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines; Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad; Konstantin Toropin and Matthew Lee in Washington; and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
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