Iran-US war latest: Tehran warns of ‘eye for an eye’ response if Trump attacks bridges and power plants

A Houthi threat to impose a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea could significantly widen the Iran war and strain a U.S. military already focused on stopping Tehran’s attacks across the region, current and former U.S. officials said. Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said on Monday they would not allow ships to load or unload at Saudi ports, potentially blocking Saudi oil exports ⁠and choking off an additional 7 per cent of global oil supply.

Saudi Arabia, which hosts US forces, has not yet requested military assistance from Washington. But Trump suggested on Tuesday that a move by the group to obstruct shipping in the Red Sea — a vital corridor for global trade — could draw the United States in.

“If something like that happens, we’ll take care of it. We’ve done that with the Houthis before,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday.

For the US military, it may not be so simple. The Houthis have earned a reputation as hardened, nimble fighters who have successfully resisted earlier Saudi and US bombing campaigns. ⁠Taking them on would mean stretching American resources already focused on fighting Iran and maintaining the United ​States’ own ⁠blockade of Iranian ports in the Gulf.

“You’re bifurcating your admittedly fairly robust resources in the region between two active fronts,” said Jason Campbell, a former senior Pentagon official.

MAGA support for President Donald Trump’s war against Iran has cratered over the past two months – with just 37 percent of his crumbling base now saying the conflict should continue even if it increases inflation, according to a new poll.

That’s down from 50 percent since May, Politico said in a Wednesday report that came a day after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sparred with Democrats during a fiery Senate hearing over the cost of the war.

A person close to the White House told Politico that it’s “at a maximum level of frustration right now,” with Trump “fully aware that the only way to the victory that he wants is completely politically impossible.”

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Iranian drone attacks on CIA facilities in the Gulf have prompted US intelligence analysts to investigate whether Russia assisted by providing targeting information or advanced drone technology, four people familiar with US intelligence told Reuters.

These people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss national security matters, said US intelligence officials have not yet reached firm conclusions about the possible ⁠Russian involvement in the attacks on CIA facilities.

But they cited the strikes’ effectiveness and apparent precision, as well as Russia’s broader technical support for Iran, as possible evidence.

Reuters and other media have reported — and US officials have acknowledged — that Russia has provided targeting and other support for Iran in its strikes on US targets in the Gulf region generally, but the intelligence community’s investigation of possible Russian involvement in supporting the CIA facility attacks has not been previously disclosed.

Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has warned that Iran will issue a “powerful and decisive response” if strikes target their infrastructure.

He wrote on X: “Our defence doctrine is clear: eye for an eye. Any aggression against Iran, including our infrastructure, will compel a powerful and decisive response.

“Those who contribute to such aggression, whatever the kind of support, will also be considered as legitimate targets.”

The head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence ⁠agency traveled to Washington two weeks ⁠ago ​to discuss ⁠the Iran war, ⁠in his ​first ⁠visit to ‌the US capital since taking ‌office, Axios reported ‌on Wednesday, citing ⁠two unidentified sources with knowledge of the situation.

He met with CIA Director ‌John Ratcliffe ​and ‌White House officials, ⁠the report ⁠said.

Donald Trump attended a ceremony at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware ⁠for four US service members who returned to American soil in flag-draped caskets on Wednesday after being killed in Iranian attacks in the Middle East.

The ceremony, known as a “dignified transfer” of the bodies, comes amid growing frustration with the US-Israeli war with Iran.

Both Republican and ⁠Democratic lawmakers have raised questions about the war, which has boosted ​global ⁠oil prices and shows no signs of ending.

Trump, wearing a blue suit and red tie, stood at attention near the flight line ⁠and saluted as teams of seven service members solemnly carried each transfer case from the aircraft during the ceremony.

Family ​members, who ⁠arrived in a convoy of vans, watched from ‌a short distance as the flag-draped transfer cases were carried off the aircraft one by one and placed in one of two vans.

Asked what he would tell the families of the fallen, Mr Trump said: “All I’m going to say is, we love you. We love your child, and that’s what they are to them. They’re their children. There’s no games, no nothing.”

US presidents, vice presidents and dignitaries regularly attend the solemn transfer ceremonies at ⁠Dover — home of the largest US military mortuary — during times of war or conflict.

The three U.S. service members killed when an Iranian missile hit their sleeping barracks at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan on Friday were First Lieutenant Tyler James Feehan, 25, Sergeant Angel S. Rampersad, 28, and Private Isabella Gonzales, 19. All three were assigned to U.S. Army air defence brigades.

The fourth death, of Sergeant Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, occurred on Sunday in a separate incident in Erbil, Iraq, during a controlled detonation of an attack drone.

DP World will develop two new container terminals ​in Fujairah on the United Arab Emirates’ eastern coast, the global ports operator said on Wednesday as the Gulf state works to reduce its dependence on the Strait of Hormuz amid the Iran war.

“The development ⁠will expand DP World’s UAE capacity and gateway network, giving customers greater choice, flexibility, and connectivity across regional and global trade routes,” the Dubai-based firm said in a statement.

Once operational, the development will boost DP World’s total container handling capacity in the UAE ⁠to almost 22 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) from ​the current ⁠19.4 million TEUs, while significantly expanding general cargo and Ro-Ro (Roll-on-Roll-off) capability.

The US-Iran conflict, which started on February 28, has killed thousands of people ⁠and Iran’s restrictions on energy shipments from Gulf states have contributed to ​inflation worldwide.

Vessel ⁠crossings via the Strait of Hormuz ‌dropped further on Tuesday, shipping data showed, as Tehran’s near-total blockade of the key waterway continued and security concerns lingered amid ongoing attacks by the United ‌States and Iran.

The family of a British couple on hunger strike in an Iran jail say they are “sick with worry” as the pair ramp up their hunger strike after 10 weeks without food.

Lindsay Foreman, who has not eaten in 66 days, has reportedly vowed to continue her strike until death to expose their treatment inside Tehran’s notorious Evin prison.

She and her husband Craig Foreman were arrested on a once-in-a-lifetime world motorbike tour 18 months ago, and were later sentenced to 10 years in prison on espionage charges, which they completely deny.