Trump warns of largest strikes on Iran yet as Tehran lashes out across Gulf

What the report says

Al Jazeera reports that US President Donald Trump has warned he is weighing the largest US strikes on Iran so far, after another round of Iranian attacks on US-aligned countries in the Gulf. Speaking to Axios on Thursday, Trump said he was close to deciding on a possible major attack. The report says the confrontation has included 12 consecutive nights of US strikes on Iran, with Iranian media saying bridges and tunnels were among the targets.

According to Al Jazeera, Iran responded to US attacks on Wednesday with missile and drone strikes on Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait on Thursday. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said its attacks in Jordan and Kuwait were aimed at US military assets, and it also acknowledged striking a telecommunications tower in Kuwait. Kuwaiti authorities later said the Abdali border crossing with Iraq was hit by hostile drones. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had warned that Tehran would answer future attacks, including against infrastructure, in kind.

The conflict is widening beyond Iran and the United States. Al Jazeera says Yemen’s Houthi rebels fired at two Saudi tankers in the Red Sea, drawing international condemnation and helping push oil prices higher. The Houthis have announced a blockade of Saudi ports, adding pressure on the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, while the Strait of Hormuz has reportedly been effectively closed since the US and Israel began the war on Iran in late February.

The developments matter because they threaten energy supplies and regional stability. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council the situation was nearing an unimaginable edge, warning that one escalation can drive another. Brent crude rose above $100 a barrel, with analysts cited by Al Jazeera warning that reduced spare capacity and lower inventories leave markets with fewer safeguards against prolonged disruption.