US military completes 11th night of strikes as Iran retaliates

HEADLINES IN BRIEF

- The US military says it completed the 11th night of strikes on Iran. READ MORE BELOW

- Iran-backed Yemen's Houthi rebels open a new front against Saudi Arabia by declaring a naval blockade of the kingdom. READ MORE BELOW

- Trump gives a dim view on possible talks, saying the US has "no interest in meeting". READ MORE BELOW

- Iran attacks a tanker in the strait off Oman, forcing the crew to abandon the vessel. READ MORE BELOW

- Pete Hegseth estimates Iran war has cost $37.5 billion as he defends funding request at fiery hearing.

IN DETAIL

US military completes 11th night of strikes on Iran

The US military said it completed the 11th night of strikes on Iran early on Wednesday as attacks across the Middle East overshadowed diplomatic efforts in Pakistan to salvage an interim ceasefire deal that has collapsed.

US Central Command said targets included aircraft hangars and drone storage sites. The newest barrage came after President Donald Trump telegraphed that strikes would be intensifying.

With negotiations and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz largely stalled, both sides have sought to gain leverage by targeting civilian infrastructure in the region relied on by millions of people.

A barrage of US strikes hasn't loosened Iran's grip on the strait, through which about one-fifth of the world's crude oil and natural gas was shipped before the war.

The US continued its airstrikes into Wednesday, with Iranian air defenses activating near the capital, Tehran. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported that explosions rocked Bushehr, East Azerbaijan, Hamadan, Hormozgan, Khuzestan and Sistan and Baluchistan provinces.

Iran retaliated with missile and drone fire targeting Jordan's port city of Aqaba on Wednesday, once again attacking just on the doorstep of Israel.

The US has been using Israel's main Ben-Gurion International Airport to host its refueler aircraft and has put fighter jets at bases in the country, but Iran has been hesitant to strike for fear of bringing the Israeli military back into the conflict.

Jordan's military said it intercepted four missiles in the Iranian attack, while two others fell in "uninhabited areas". Jordan said it also intercepted four Iranian drones.

That came after Iran attacked a tanker in the strait on Tuesday, forcing the crew to abandon the ship.

The escalation pushed energy prices higher, with the international benchmark for crude oil trading on Wednesday above $92 a barrel.

Houthis open a new front in the Red Sea

In the Red Sea, Iran-backed Yemen's Houthi rebels have opened a new front against Saudi Arabia by declaring a naval blockade of the kingdom, threatening the flow of global oil supplies and trade.

With the Strait of Hormuz blocked up, Saudi Arabia has been relying on a pipeline to the Red Sea to get millions of barrels of oil out to market.

A news agency in Yemen that is run by the Houthis, SABA, said on Tuesday that six ships in the Red Sea were forced to reroute after they received warnings from the rebel group.

Three Houthi officials said the group warned international shipping companies on Monday to avoid transiting through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the gateway to the Red Sea on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula from the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump says US has 'no interest' in Iran talks

Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni met Pakistan's army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, according to two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations. Momeni later met Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

In a statement, Sharif expressed deep concern over the recent US-Iran escalation, and urged all sides to exercise restraint and avoid actions that could further destabilize the region.

Pakistan's political leadership and Munir, who serves as both the chief of army staff and defense forces, played a key role in brokering last month's interim agreement between the US and Iran. Islamabad has been working to persuade both sides to return to the negotiating table.

Speaking from the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump gave a dim view on possible talks, saying the US had "no interest in meeting".

He also said the US would soon target the area near Pickaxe Mountain — a fortified underground site near one of Iran's primary nuclear enrichment facilities.

Iran's military leaders said any attack on nuclear or "other sensitive facilities" would be considered a major escalation, according to a statement reported by Iranian state media.

A deep level of mistrust persists on both sides. Iran came under a surprise attack in June 2025 and again in February while it was engaging in nuclear negotiations with the US.

The interim deal unraveled when Iran resumed attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, which was supposed to be reopened under the agreement.

US strikes come as ships are attacked

The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said a tanker came under attack early Tuesday in the strait off Oman, forcing the crew to abandon the vessel.

Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed responsibility for the attack, as well as two other attacks on ships Monday in the waterway.

The route close to Oman's shores has been the one the US military has encouraged ships to travel to avoid Iran's control.

To enforce the blockade in the strait, as of Tuesday, US forces have redirected eight commercial vessels and disabled one, CENTCOM said on X.