US-Iran conflict intensifies as Trump threatens strikes and UN warns of escalating crisis

President Donald Trump threatened to strike Iran and the Houthi militants after attacks on Saudi tankers, while the UN warned that the situation in the Middle East is "out of control." The blog also reported new US strikes on Iran, regional missile interceptions, and rising humanitarian and energy risks.

US forces said they had started another round of strikes against Iranian military targets. US Central Command said it was the 13th consecutive night of strikes aimed at holding Iran accountable and diminishing threats from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to commercial shipping.

Kuwait said its air defenses were intercepting missile and drone attacks from Iran. The military’s general staff said it was responding to what it called wrongful Iranian aggression.

Germany’s navy is expected to move two vessels from the Red Sea region to the eastern Mediterranean in the coming days. The Defense Ministry said the move was due to the volatile political situation and the lack of any foreseeable near-term start of operations in the Strait of Hormuz. It said keeping the vessels deployed indefinitely would strain their technical systems.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said it was aware of a planned US-Saudi request for verification work tied to the nuclear cooperation deal, but it had not yet received the request. The deal discussed Wednesday would allow Saudi Arabia to build nuclear reactors using US technology and to enrich uranium and reprocess nuclear waste.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the conflict in the Middle East had pushed the region to the edge of the unimaginable. He told the Security Council that the situation was getting out of control and that one crisis was feeding another.

The global hunger monitor Integrated Food Security Phase Classification said more than two-thirds of people in Gaza were at risk of acute hunger by year-end because of reduced humanitarian aid flows. It said over 1.2 million people, or about 59% of Gaza’s population, faced acute hunger, and that figure could rise to more than 1.4 million people, or 67%, by December. Israel rejected the findings.

Renewed strikes on shipping in the Gulf and the Red Sea pushed Brent crude to over $100 per barrel for part of Thursday.

Israel welcomed the idea of Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords. The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the US-Israeli war against Iran had the possibility to expand the circle of peace.

France condemned Houthi strikes on Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, calling them irresponsible and a serious escalation. The Houthis said they had attacked two oil tankers and announced a maritime blockade in the region.

Trump threatened major military punishment after the Houthi ship attacks. He said the US would hold Iran responsible if the Houthis continued to attack, calling them a surrogate and/or proxy of Iran.

Trump also said the US-Saudi nuclear deal was contingent on Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords and described it as a civil nuclear deal with no enrichment of material.

The EU called on the Houthis to cease attacks on Red Sea ships. Kaja Kallas said the attack on an oil tanker was unacceptable, illegal, and further inflamed an already volatile situation.

Jordan said it intercepted Iranian missiles and drones. The Jordanian military said three missiles and six drones were intercepted and that no casualties or material damage were reported. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards later said they had destroyed several defense assets in Jordan, but that report could not be independently confirmed.

Marco Rubio said he believed the Houthis had been tricked into joining the conflict by Tehran. He also said Iran was going back on its commitments in peace talks and reiterated the US position that Iran should be denuclearized. Trump had earlier declared that a previous ceasefire deal with Iran was over.