Trump in 'Revenge Mode' as US-Iran Conflict Escalates, Military Rushes Weapons to Middle East

Donald Trump is in “revenge mode” with Iran and believes the only way to get through to its leadership is with military force, allies have said as the US military carried out a 13th consecutive day of strikes.

A senior administration official told the Wall Street Journal that the US president was losing patience and sees few good options in front of him besides continuing strikes. Officials and those close to the president said he is increasingly frustrated that a conflict he expected to be wrapped up within weeks is still dragging on with no end in sight.

The US military is now reportedly moving weapons, medics and special forces to the Middle East to broaden options as hopes of a diplomatic resolution wane.

In a bid to break Iran’s hold on the Strait of Hormuz, Trump also announced overnight that any damage sustained by ships as a result of Iranian strikes would be compensated with frozen Iranian assets held in the US. This announcement was a point of leverage earlier referenced in talks to end the war.

The US military said it had completed a 13th consecutive night of strikes on Iran in an effort to dislodge its hold on the Strait of Hormuz. The number of tankers crossing the Strait of Hormuz fell to just one on Thursday, the lowest level since 7 May. The very large crude carrier New Giant, loaded with 2 million barrels of Iraqi Basrah crude, exited the strait on Thursday and is due to arrive at China's Rizhao port by mid-August.

Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has since suggested Iran could escalate if the move to seize assets goes ahead. He wrote on X: “Seizing another nation's assets to pay for unrelated future claims is an incendiary precedent. Those who celebrate or profit from such funds should remember: once governments normalize confiscation, no one's assets are safe. Ensuing chaos will not be pretty or peaceful.”

Iran’s IRGC has claimed responsibility for fresh attacks on Al-Adiri base in Kuwait and an observation tower belonging to the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.

Consumers are bracing for further financial strain as global oil prices surged past $100 a barrel on Thursday, driven by renewed fighting and military strikes in the Middle East that have disrupted international oil supplies. This latest spike follows a period of brief relief in June when hostilities between the U.S. and Iran had temporarily eased. The benchmark Brent crude, an international standard, had last reached the $100 mark in May. The current escalation means that the economic pressures felt by households since the onset of the Iran war are set to intensify.

Businesses across various sectors, including fresh food producers, school supply vendors, and shipping companies, have already reported increased operational costs from earlier energy price hikes after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran. These rising expenses are now likely to be passed on to consumers, impacting everyday goods.

Britain's armed forces are ready to protect the country from any attack from Iranian missiles, the government said on Thursday. It follows a warning from Iran's Revolutionary Guards over the UK allowing US bombers to fly from its bases. A government spokesperson said: "Our Armed Forces are ready to keep the United Kingdom safe from any kind of attacks, whether it's on our soil or from abroad. The UK stands ready 24/7 to defend itself."

In the last two days, the Pentagon reportedly reduced the announced U.S. service member death toll in the Iran war from 18 to 14. Three military officials told The New York Times that the revision was in part because the most recent four deaths — three in Jordan and one in Iraq — came after President Trump declared an initial ceasefire in April. The Pentagon has said ‘data disruptions’ explain the discrepancy. Retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, who served in the first Trump administration, told the paper: “The administration seems to have a real hard time being honest about what is going on — not just about casualties, but about the whole war in general.”