The China Mail - New strikes as Trump warns Iran will pay for US troop deaths

As the United States announced a new round of strikes against the Islamic Republic, Tehran's Yemeni allies, the Houthi rebels, threatened to broaden the war even further by announcing they would blockade Saudi ports.

Such a move by the Houthis would put at risk Riyadh's ability to bypass the flashpoint Strait of Hormuz for some of its oil exports and have major repercussions on the global economy.

Saudi Arabia and the Houthis traded fire last week for the first time in years, threatening a 2022 truce, but the rebels have largely remained on the sidelines since Israel and the United States attacked Iran in late February.

Saudi Arabia strongly condemned the threat from what it called the "terrorist Houthi militia" and said it "continues to support the brotherly Yemeni people and their legitimate government."

Trump issued his latest warning to Tehran in a post on Truth Social following the deaths of three more US soldiers, bringing the total number of confirmed American fatalities in the war to 17.

Nearly 100 US servicemembers have been wounded since July 7, the Pentagon said on Monday, most with minor concussions.

"Every time Iran kills an American Soldier they will pay for that killing many times over!" Trump said. "This directive has been passed on to Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Daniel Caine, and every Leader in the Military."

US Central Command said US forces launched a new round of strikes on Iran on Monday "designed to further degrade Iranian military capabilities used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz."

As Trump ramped up his threats, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the conflict with the United States has entered a new phase.

"The reality is that today the Islamic Republic of Iran is engaged in a full-scale war," Pezeshkian said.

- Red Sea threat -

Claiming to be targeting US military assets, Iran has struck countries across the region with drone and missile fire, and the Revolutionary Guards said Monday that they had hit sites in Bahrain, Jordan and Syria.

Jordan's army said air defences had downed three Iranian missiles targeting the kingdom with no injuries or damage reported.

Kuwait and Bahrain also reported coming under attack from Iran.

The Middle East war resumed after an April ceasefire and a June framework deal collapsed.

Tehran reimposed its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and Washington hit back by again blockading Iran's ports.

Oil prices surged briefly to a one-month high on Monday as the foes battle to control the strait, through which a fifth of world oil travelled in peacetime.

Although far below its prewar totals, Saudi Arabia has been able to continue exporting millions of barrels of oil a day despite the Hormuz blockade via its Red Sea port of Yanbu.

Oil markets have for months feared that the Houthis would return to attacking shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, as they did during the Gaza war, potentially cutting off yet more crude from global markets.

The Houthis, who have been at war with Riyadh for over a decade, have not said how they will enforce their blockade.

- Diplomatic exchanges -

In the Strait of Hormuz, meanwhile, sailors abandoned a vessel set on fire in an attack, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency.

The Revolutionary Guards had earlier said that two oil tankers trying to transit the strait "exploded and were brought to a halt."

UKMTO later reported another vessel struck near the strait off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, with the crew reported safe.

Despite the latest fighting, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said diplomatic exchanges with the United States via mediators were ongoing.

"Ideas have been conveyed to us by certain mediators," Baqaei said.

Iran's Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni was set to travel to mediator Pakistan's capital on Monday, a Pakistani interior ministry source told AFP, without confirming the reason.

Z.Huang--ThChM