US strikes Iranian mine-laying vessels as Middle East war intensifies

The US military said it destroyed multiple Iranian vessels on Tuesday as the Islamic Republic vowed to block the region's oil exports, raising concerns over its threats to stop tankers from using a waterway through which 20% of the world’s oil is shipped.

The US destroyed 16 mine-laying Iranian vessels, though President Donald Trump said in social media posts that there were no reports of Iran planting explosives in the Strait of Hormuz.

The American military released the figure, along with unclassified footage of some of the vessels, after Trump earlier warned Iran against laying mines in the strait.

Both sides sharpened their rhetoric as the war entered its 11th day, with Trump threatening to hit Iran at “a level never seen before” if the country failed to immediately remove any mines it might have deployed in the channel.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth promised the most intense strikes yet, while the Pentagon detailed the broader toll of injuries sustained by US troops.

The conflict's effects have rippled across the Middle East and beyond. Iranian leaders ruled out talks, threatened Trump, and launched new attacks against Israel and Gulf Arab countries.

In Iran, residents of Tehran reported experiencing some of the war's heaviest strikes. A woman said she saw a residential building hit. She and others reached by The Associated Press spoke on condition of anonymity to prevent reprisals. Tens of thousands of Iranians have sought shelter in the countryside.

Multiple Israeli strikes killed seven people across southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Health Ministry said early Wednesday.

Also killed was a Red Cross member who died early Wednesday after an Israeli strike targeted his team on Monday while they were rescuing people following an earlier attack, the health ministry said. On Tuesday, Israeli airstrikes killed four people, including a paramedic who worked for the Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic Health Authority and was treating the wounded.

Israel said it was working to intercept missiles from Iran and Hezbollah, which began firing on Israel after the start of the war.

In Iraq, drones targeted military bases inside Baghdad International Airport late Tuesday, two security officials told AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the press. Some drones fell near Iraqi security positions, while others landed near logistical support sites used by US-led coalition forces, one official said.

Iranian attacks in the United Arab Emirates – home to the business and travel hub of Dubai – have killed six people and wounded 122 others.

In Bahrain, the Ministry of Interior said early Wednesday that sirens were sounded, urging people to seek safety. The warnings came a day after an Iranian attack hit a residential building in the capital, Manama, killing a 29-year-old woman and wounding eight people.

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said US forces had hit more than 5,000 targets.

The Pentagon separately said on Tuesday that about 140 US service members had been wounded in the war, with the “vast majority” of injuries minor, and 108 service members already back on duty. Eight US service members suffered severe injuries, and seven have been killed.

In Iran, at least 1,230 people have been killed, while the death toll is more than 480 in Lebanon and 12 in Israel, according to officials.

Iran's leaders have remained defiant after days of heavy strikes targeting the country's leadership, military, ballistic missiles, and disputed nuclear programme. Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said on X that Iran was “definitely not looking for a ceasefire.”

“We believe that the aggressor should be punched in the mouth so that he learns a lesson and will never think of attacking our beloved Iran again,” he said.

A top Iranian security official, Ali Larijani, posted a warning to Trump, writing on X that “Even those bigger than you couldn’t eliminate Iran. Be careful not to get eliminated yourself.” Iran has been accused of plotting attempts to kill Trump in the past.

The Trump administration, meanwhile, faced growing scrutiny at home over the war.

“I’m not sure what the end game is, or what their plans are,” Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen of Nevada said after a classified briefing that the Trump administration held on Tuesday for some lawmakers.

Iran has repeatedly targeted energy infrastructure with attacks that appear aimed at generating enough global economic pain to pressure the US and Israel to end their strikes. It has also fired on Israel and US military bases in the region.

The US stock market held steadier on Tuesday as Wall Street waited for the next clue on when the war with Iran might end.

Oil prices, meanwhile, remained well below their peaks hit on Monday. Such spikes have been rocking financial markets worldwide due to worries that the war could block the global flow of oil and natural gas for a prolonged period.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said it “will not allow the export of even a single litre of oil from the region to the hostile side and its partners until further notice.”

Amin Nasser, the president and CEO of Saudi Arabia’s oil giant Aramco, said tankers were being rerouted to avoid the strait, and that the company's east-west pipeline would reach its full capacity this week, with 7 million barrels a day being brought to the Red Sea port of Yanbu.

“The situation at the Strait of Hormuz is blocking sizeable volumes of oil from the whole region,” he said. “If this takes a long time, that will have serious impact on the global economy.”

The UN refugee agency said on Tuesday that more than 667,000 people in Lebanon had registered as displaced – an increase of over 100,000 since a day earlier – and more than 85,000 people from Lebanon, mostly Syrians, had entered neighbouring Syria.

The British government said the number of commercial flights from the UAE to the UK is returning to normal levels, with 32 flights operated on Monday from Dubai to Britain and another 36 scheduled on Tuesday. British Airways, however, said it had suspended flights to and from Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar, Dubai, and Tel Aviv until later this month.

Many foreign nationals have been leaving the Persian Gulf region since the war began, including over 45,000 UK citizens, the British Foreign Office said. Some 40,000 people returned to the United States, according to the State Department.

(FRANCE 24 with AP)