Iran vowed on Thursday to keep striking the region so long as it remains under attack, as the Middle East war spread to new fronts with Tehran’s Houthi allies attacking Saudi shipping in the Red Sea.
The war resumed following a ceasefire that lasted just a few weeks, throwing the region and global energy markets back into chaos as Iran and the United States battle for control of the vital Strait of Hormuz.
The Houthis this week joined the conflict, claiming to have struck two Saudi oil tankers after declaring a blockade of Saudi ports.
Meanwhile, Jordan and Kuwait both reported intercepting strikes as Iran’s military and Revolutionary Guards claimed to be targeting US assets in both countries.
“The armed forces’ retaliatory attacks will continue as long as the US attacks on the country’s infrastructure and coastal areas continue,” Iran’s army spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia said, according to state TV.
‘Eye For An Eye’
The developments followed fresh US strikes on Iranian military targets, with US Central Command reporting its twelfth consecutive night of strikes, saying it aimed to “further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters”.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the US would bomb Iranian civilian infrastructure every time Tehran fires at ships in Hormuz.
“Any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT,” Trump wrote on social media.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran would respond in kind to any attack on its infrastructure, writing: “Our defence doctrine is clear: eye for an eye.”
Iranian state media said Thursday that a US attack killed two people at Shalamcheh on the Islamic republic’s border with Iraq.
