U.S. hits Iran for 10th night as Red Sea threat raises oil risk

The U.S. military said it launched a 10th consecutive night of strikes on Iran on Monday, extending a campaign aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The fighting is now putting pressure on two major oil routes, with Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen threatening Saudi shipping in the Red Sea.

U.S. Central Command said the latest attacks were meant to weaken Iranian forces used against commercial ships in the strait. The renewed strikes followed the death of another American service member and attacks on U.S.-allied countries in the region, according to U.S. and regional officials.

U.S. targets Iranian military sites

Central Command said Sunday’s strikes hit Iranian command centers, air defenses, coastal surveillance systems, maritime assets, missile and drone launch sites, and communications networks. The U.S. also struck bridges and a tower at an Iranian port last week, according to the military.

Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency said at least one person was killed near Tabriz, a northwestern city that is believed to host underground missile bases used by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. IRNA reported that U.S. strikes likely also hit sites in Khuzestan, Hormozgan, and Sistan and Baluchistan provinces.

The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said Monday that a second ship had been attacked a day earlier in the Strait of Hormuz, off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. UKMTO said another vessel was left burning and adrift after a projectile hit it near Oman, prompting the crew to abandon ship.

The U.S. military has urged vessels to use a route around Oman to avoid areas controlled by Iran. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard later said it was targeting tankers in the strait.

Regional attacks add to pressure

Kuwait said its air defenses fired at an incoming barrage, and Jordan’s armed forces said they shot down three Iranian missiles Monday evening without casualties or material damage. Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry condemned what it called Iranian drone strikes on its air traffic systems, saying they put civilian travel at risk.

The U.S. military said two soldiers were killed in Jordan in attacks that also left a third person missing. Separately, the military confirmed another death in Iraq on Saturday during the controlled detonation of a downed Iranian drone.

President Donald Trump said on social media Monday that Iran would pay “many times over” for every American soldier killed. Trump was expected to attend a ceremony Tuesday evening at Dover Air Force Base, where at least one service member’s remains were due to arrive.

Houthis threaten Red Sea route

Yemen’s Houthi rebels said Monday they would impose a maritime embargo on Saudi Arabia by blocking shipping between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The Iran-backed group said the move was in response to an attack on Sanaa International Airport last week that it blamed on Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia had no immediate response. With traffic through the Strait of Hormuz largely stalled, Saudi Arabia has been using a pipeline to the Red Sea to move millions of barrels of oil to market, according to the report.

The Houthis previously disrupted Red Sea shipping during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, attacking more than 100 vessels. The new threat adds another risk for energy markets already strained by the Hormuz conflict.

Benchmark Brent crude traded above $88 a barrel Monday, and regular gasoline in the United States reached an average of $4 a gallon. The increases have added economic pressure ahead of U.S. midterm elections this fall.

Pakistan presses for talks

Pakistan has stepped up efforts to revive an interim ceasefire reached last month, which called for unresolved issues from the war to be settled within 60 days. The agreement fell apart after both sides resumed attacks on military sites and infrastructure.

Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni arrived in Islamabad on Monday for two days of talks with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other officials. Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said, “God willing, we will have good news.”

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that Washington remains open to talks with Iran, but said any negotiations must be “real.” Iranian authorities said Sunday that at least 50 people have been killed and 517 wounded in the latest U.S. strikes; since the war began Feb. 28, 17 U.S. service members have been killed.

This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.