Trump warns that Iran will pay for the deaths of American soldiers

Donald Trump on Monday threatened Iran with a heavy price for every American soldier killed in the Middle East, while his Iranian counterpart spoke of "total war" against the United States.

The US military announced it had resumed its strikes on Iran for the tenth consecutive night, while Yemen's pro-Iranian Houthi rebels raised the specter of an escalation of the conflict with the announcement of a maritime blockade of their Saudi neighbor.

This measure would threaten the ability of the world's largest crude oil exporter to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, at the heart of the war, and could provoke an "even greater regional escalation," the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General warned.

Strongly condemned by Riyadh, this announcement of a blockade of the Bab el-Mandab strait raises fears of "a much bigger shock" because of its simultaneity with that of Hormuz, warned Andreas Krieg, a security expert at King's College London.

Although the Houthis did not specify how they planned to implement this blockade, their announcement, along with the resumption of hostilities, of an intensity unseen since the ceasefire in April, caused oil prices to end higher on Monday.

Diplomatic efforts

For the past week, the specter of American bombings on Iran has extended far beyond the regions where they were confined, near the Gulf, after the resumption of hostilities on July 7, to affect in particular the center and the northwest, according to local officials.

Strikes were reported on Monday in Bushehr, where the only functioning nuclear power plant is located.

In response to the US strikes on Monday evening, Tehran announced that it had again fired on an American base in Kuwait, after having targeted Bahrain, another Washington ally, but also Jordan.

The kingdom indicated on Monday evening that it had shot down three more Iranian missiles targeting it after warning sirens were activated.

"The reality is that today, the Islamic Republic of Iran is facing total war" waged by the United States, said President Massoud Pezeshkian.

According to the latest official Iranian figures, published on Friday, at least 50 deaths and more than 500 injuries have been recorded since the fighting resumed.

On the American side, three soldiers were recently killed in Jordan and Iraq, the first since the new violence, bringing the total number of American military deaths since the start of the war in February to 17.

For each soldier killed, Iran will pay "several times" the price, Donald Trump claimed on Monday on Truth Social.

The resumption of hostilities between the two countries shattered the memorandum of understanding signed on June 17, which was supposed to lead to peace, after the outbreak of war by an Israeli-American offensive on February 28.

However, diplomatic efforts are continuing between Tehran and Washington through mediating countries, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghai said on Monday.

Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni arrived Monday for a two-day visit to Pakistan, one of the mediators along with Qatar and Oman, Islamabad announced.

"Protecting transport"

At the heart of the disputes remains the Strait of Hormuz, through which before the war a fifth of the world's hydrocarbon trade passed and whose memorandum of understanding provided for its reopening.

Since the resumption of hostilities, Iran has once again blocked its passage, and the United States has reimposed its blockade of Iranian ports in retaliation.

"We must not allow this sea route to be diverted from its original purpose again to threaten Iran's security and national interests," the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Monday.

Two oil tankers that attempted to cross the Strait of Hormuz in an "unauthorized" manner "exploded" and were stopped on Monday, after four ships were "detained" the previous day, according to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

On Tuesday, an oil tanker was hit by an "unidentified projectile" off the coast of Oman, according to the British maritime safety agency UKMTO.

She had announced the previous day that two other ships had been struck off the coast of Oman and the United Arab Emirates.