Iran’s attacks on oil infrastructure and vows to choke off a key waterway sent markets on edge on Tuesday as the United States promised fierce new strikes. The war entered its 11th day as its effects rippled across the Middle East and beyond.
For the first time since the war began, the Pentagon released details of the number of American troops injured, saying eight of the nearly 140 service members injured were in critical condition.
Both sides dug in their rhetoric, with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth again promising the most severe strikes yet, while Iranian leaders dismissed talks and threatened US President Donald Trump.
Iran launched new attacks against Israel and the Gulf Arab states, while Israel launched airstrikes against Iran and Lebanon, where it is fighting Hezbollah militants.
Residents of Tehran said they experienced some of the heaviest strikes of the war, with power cuts to neighborhoods. A woman said she saw a residential building hit. She and others reached by The Associated Press spoke on condition of anonymity to prevent retaliation. Tens of thousands of Iranians have taken refuge in the countryside.
The death toll in the Gulf is rising
The United Arab Emirates reported two more deaths as nine drones struck the country and nearly three dozen other drones and missiles were intercepted. Officials said firefighters battled a blaze following an Iranian drone strike in the industrial city of Ruwais, home to petrochemical plants. No injuries were reported there.
Iranian attacks on the wealthy Gulf nation — home to business and tourism hub Dubai — have killed six people and wounded 122 others since the surprise bombing of Iran by the US and Israel began on February 28.
In Bahrain, an Iranian missile struck a residential building in the capital Manama, killing a 29-year-old woman and injuring eight people, officials said. Bahrain’s defense ministry says it has intercepted more than 100 ballistic missiles and 175 drones since the war began.
Sirens also sounded in Jerusalem and explosions could be heard in Tel Aviv as Israel’s air defenses worked to intercept barrages from Iran. After the start of the war, Hezbollah, which started firing at Israel, fired missiles at Israel.
US and Iran leaders face trade threats
At the Pentagon, Hegseth said Tuesday “will be the day of our most intense strike yet again inside Iran: more fighters, more bombers, more strikes, intelligence more refined and better than ever.” He said Iran had fired the fewest missiles of the war in the past 24 hours.
Gen. Don Cain, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said US forces hit more than 5,000 targets.
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The Pentagon said separately on Tuesday that about 140 US service members were injured in the battle and that the “vast majority” of injuries were minor, with 108 service members already returning to duty. Eight US service members were seriously wounded and seven were killed.
At least 1,230 people have died in Iran, while the death toll is at least 397 in Lebanon and 12 in Israel, officials said.
Iran’s leaders are defiant after days of heavy attacks targeting the country’s leadership, military, ballistic missiles and disputed nuclear program. Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Khalibaf, said in X that Iran was “definitely not looking for a ceasefire.”
“We believe that the aggressor should be punched in the mouth so that they learn a lesson, so that they never think of attacking our beloved Iran again,” he said.
Ali Larijani, Iran’s top security official, posted a warning to Trump, writing on X, “Even someone bigger than you can’t get rid of Iran. Be careful about getting rid of yourself.” Earlier there were allegations that Iran had plotted to kill Trump.
Attacks on oil intended to put pressure on the US
Iran has repeatedly targeted energy infrastructure, aiming to cause enough global economic pain to pressure the US and Israel to end their strikes. Israel and the US have also fired on military bases in the region.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose to around $120 on Monday, but was around $90 a barrel on Tuesday, about 24% higher than when the war began. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was initially lower on Tuesday, but turned positive as oil prices dipped and hopes rose that rich industrialized countries could tap strategic reserves.
Iran has effectively stopped tankers from using the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil is transported.
Trump said Tuesday that the U.S. had “totally destroyed” 10 inactive minelaying vessels after reports of Iranian action in the Strait.
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said that “even a liter of oil from the region will not be allowed to be exported to the hostile side and its partners until further notice”.
Amin Nasser, chairman and CEO of Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco, said tankers are being rerouted to avoid the strait and its east-west pipeline will reach its full capacity of 7 million barrels a day, due to be brought to the Red Sea port of Yanbu this week.
“The situation in the Strait of Hormuz is blocking a significant amount of oil from the entire region,” he said. “If it takes too long, it will have a serious impact on the global economy.”
Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced by the fighting
The UN refugee agency on Tuesday registered more than 667,000 people displaced in Lebanon – an increase of more than 100,000 from a day earlier – and more than 85,000 people from Lebanon, mostly Syrians, had entered neighboring Syria.
The British government said the number of commercial flights from the UAE to the UK was returning to normal levels, with 32 flights operating from Dubai to Britain on Monday and another 36 scheduled for Tuesday. British Airways, however, said it had suspended flights to Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar, Dubai and Tel Aviv until the end of the month.
The British Foreign Office said many foreign nationals have been leaving the Persian Gulf region since the war began, including more than 45,000 UK citizens. About 40,000 people returned to the United States, according to the State Department.
Magdy reports from Cairo and Keaton from Geneva. Associated Press writers Qasim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad, David Rising in Bangkok, Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Tokah Ezidin and Fatma Khaled in Cairo contributed to this story.
(tags to translate)Iran(T)Middle East Conflict(T)US News(T)World
