US and Iran attack infrastructure, raising fears of escalation

Two oil tankers exploded and caught fire after passing through a mined route south of Hormuz, Iranian media reported The US struck bridges in Iran, and Tehran responded by hitting a power and desalination plant in Kuwait on Friday, as the two sides risked further escalation by expanding their targets to include infrastructure. At sea, where the renewed conflict has again cut off energy supplies from the Gulf, US Marines boarded a tanker near the Strait of ‌Hormuz. Two oil tankers exploded and caught fire after passing through a mined route south of the strait, Iranian media reported, citing Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. Armed men seized another vessel off Yemen, raising concern over security in the Middle East’s other big choke point for oil shipments at the mouth of the Red Sea. Iran’s state television quoted the Revolutionary Guards as saying that until US “aggression” comes to an end, it will not be possible to export chemical fertilisers or even a “single drop of oil and gas” from the region. Washington and Tehran have been testing the limits of escalation since their ceasefire agreement collapsed last week, raising the prospect of a return to all-out war.

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