Kumar Bahukhandi
The US military said it completed the 11th night of strikes on Iran early Wednesday (X.com/@CENTCOM)
US Central Command said targets included aircraft hangars and drone storage sites
Dubai: The US military said it completed the 11th night of strikes on Iran early Wednesday as attacks across the Middle East overshadowed diplomatic efforts in Pakistan to salvage an interim ceasefire deal that has collapsed.
US Central Command said targets included aircraft hangars and drone storage sites. The newest barrage came after President Donald Trump telegraphed that strikes would be intensifying.
Before the latest strikes, Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni visited Pakistan, a key mediator in the conflict seeking to revamp diplomacy. But it was unclear what new arrangement might be reached to end the war, which lately has become a battle for control over the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway vital to world energy supplies.
Speaking from the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump gave a dim view on possible talks, saying the US had “no interest in meeting.” He signalled that US forces could soon target an area of Iran close to one of its main sites for enriching uranium.
With negotiations and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz largely stalled, both sides have sought to gain leverage by targeting civilian infrastructure in the region relied on by millions of people.
A barrage of US strikes hasn’t loosened Iran’s grip on the strait, through which about one-fifth of the world’s crude oil and natural gas was shipped before the war.
The US continued its airstrikes on the Islamic Republic into Wednesday, with Iranian air defences activating near the capital, Tehran. That came after Iran attacked a tanker in the strait, forcing the crew to abandon the ship. Iran also kept up attacks against US allies in the region. Sirens in Bahrain and Kuwait warned residents of incoming projectiles.
The escalation pushed energy prices higher. The international benchmark for crude oil traded Wednesday above USD 92 a barrel and regular gasoline in the US climbed to an average of USD 4 a gallon.
With US midterm elections approaching in the fall, polls have pointed to the unpopularity of the war among Americans, who have felt the pain of pricier gas and seen new casualties in a conflict that weeks ago seemed to be winding down.
In the Red Sea, Iran-backed Yemen’s Houthi rebels have opened a new front against Saudi Arabia by declaring a naval blockade of the kingdom, threatening the flow of global oil supplies and trade.
With the Strait of Hormuz blocked up, Saudi Arabia has been relying on a pipeline to the Red Sea to get millions of barrels of oil out to market.
A news agency in Yemen that is run by the Houthis, SABA, said Tuesday that six ships in the Red Sea were forced to reroute after they received warnings from the rebel group.
The Associated Press could not immediately confirm the claim. Three Houthi officials said the group warned international shipping companies on Monday to avoid transiting through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the gateway to the Red Sea on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula from the Strait of Hormuz.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they weren’t authorized to speak to journalists.
Trump says US has no interest’ in Iran talks
———————————————–
Momeni, Iran’s interior minister, met Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, according to two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations.
Momeni later met Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. In a statement, Sharif expressed deep concern over the recent US-Iran escalation, and urged all sides to exercise restraint and avoid actions that could further destabilise the region. Pakistan’s political leadership and Munir, who serves as both the chief of army staff and defense forces, played a key role in brokering last month’s interim agreement between the US and Iran.
Islamabad has been working to persuade both sides to return to the negotiating table. Trump told reporters that Iranian officials “want to desperately meet. And until they’re ready to meet in a meaningful way, we have no interest in meeting.”
He said the US would soon target the area near Pickaxe Mountain – a fortified underground site near one of Iran’s primary nuclear enrichment facilities. Iran’s military leaders said any attack on nuclear or “other sensitive facilities” would be considered a major escalation, according to a statement reported by Iranian state media.
A deep level of mistrust persists on both sides. Iran came under a surprise attack in June 2025 and again in February while it was engaging in nuclear negotiations with the US.
The interim deal unravelled when Iran resumed attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, which was supposed to be reopened under the agreement. US strikes come as ships are attacked
—————————————–
The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said a tanker came under attack early Tuesday in the strait off Oman, forcing the crew to abandon the vessel. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed responsibility for the attack, as well as two other attacks on ships Monday in the waterway.
The route close to Oman’s shores has been the one the US military has encouraged ships to travel to avoid Iran’s control. To enforce the blockade in the strait, as of Tuesday US forces have redirected eight commercial vessels and disabled one, CENTCOM said on X.
( Source : AP )
