Iran hits out at Gulf neighbors as US presses on with strikes

Washington and Tehran traded strikes Monday as Iran hit its Gulf neighbors and US military deaths in the renewed conflict climbed to three, with more ships attacked in the Strait of Hormuz.

Oil prices surged to a one-month high, with Brent crude trading above $91 a barrel.

Which Gulf states has Iran attacked?

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Monday they struck US-linked targets in Syria, Jordan and Kuwait overnight, hitting a special operations center near Al-Tanf, aircraft at Aqaba Airport and an early-warning radar system. Kuwait's air defenses intercepted hostile drones, while Bahrain sounded air raid sirens as a precaution for residents.

Why did Iran attack Kuwait and Jordan?

In Syria, Iranian forces said they launched a surprise attack on what they called the enemy's special operations command center in the Al-Tanf region. In Jordan, the Guards said they targeted US military aircraft stationed at Aqaba Airport with ballistic missiles, causing severe damage to several of them. The Guards also said they struck US military targets in Kuwait, including an early-warning radar system they described as completely destroyed.

What is happening in the Strait of Hormuz?

Since the war began on February 28, Iran has struck US allies and military assets across the region while effectively blocking the strait through which a fifth of the world's oil supply passed before the conflict. A preliminary deal aimed at ending the war has collapsed, with both sides stuck over control of the waterway. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Monday that two oil tankers attempting to transit the strait exploded and were brought to a halt, according to the Tasnim news agency, while the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency reported a vessel on fire in the strait, citing military sources, though the cause has not been verified. On Sunday, the Guards said four ships tried to exit the strait via an unsafe route, two of which had an accident and were stopped in place, while the other two abandoned their journey.

Why are oil prices rising?

The standoff over the strait has driven Brent crude to its highest level since June 11, as traders weigh the risk to global shipping through the corridor. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on countries worldwide to share the burden of protecting global shipping, saying some in Iran want to control the strait and hold it as leverage against the world. He said the United States will keep doing what is needed to protect global shipping but that other countries need to step up with hardware or financing to help carry that burden.

Is a ceasefire with Iran still possible?

A fragile truce between Iran and the United States was shattered following reports of Iranian attacks on ships in the strait, though Rubio said he will continue trying to reach a diplomatic solution. He said Tehran cannot have a memorandum of understanding that stays alive if it keeps violating the terms, adding that any deal has to be real and one Iran is willing to live by. He made the comments ahead of traveling to the Philippines for a meeting of foreign ministers with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

How many US troops have died in the conflict?

US Central Command said Sunday it had completed a ninth consecutive night of strikes against Iran, aimed at further diminishing Iran's ability to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners transiting the strait. The fighting came after a weekend in which the US announced three new military fatalities and one service member missing in action. Two were killed in Iranian missile and drone attacks on Jordan Friday, while another died in northern Iraq during the controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian drone.

President Donald Trump said Sunday that the latest US strikes on Iran hit them very hard, in honor of the American fatalities. The deaths brought the confirmed number of American military fatalities since the conflict began to 17. On Friday, Iran's health ministry reported that 50 people had been killed in recent fighting and more than 500 wounded.