U.S., Iran trade 11th day of strikes as Hormuz fight deepens
Why it matters: The fighting has pushed Brent above $92 a barrel, disrupted Gulf shipping and raised the risk of a wider regional war.
The United States and Iran exchanged strikes for an 11th straight day as the fight over the Strait of Hormuz intensified, with no clear off-ramp in sight. U.S. forces hit Iranian military targets overnight, while Iran attacked U.S. facilities in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan and kept pressure on shipping in the Gulf. The renewed violence has broken an interim ceasefire reached earlier this month and added to U.S. troop deaths. Oil markets reacted sharply: Brent crude rose to $92.01 a barrel and tanker traffic faced new disruptions after Iran-backed Houthis threatened vessels carrying Saudi oil through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Analysts warned that continued escalation could harden positions on both sides and make diplomacy harder to restart.