Photo: IANS
Tehran: The United States launched a fresh round of strikes on Iran on Friday after Tehran-backed Houthi rebels targeted oil tankers in the Red Sea, further escalating regional tensions and pushing global crude oil prices above $100 a barrel.
The US military said the Strait of Hormuz remained open to commercial shipping despite continued Iranian attacks on tankers using the route. According to Washington, Iran had intensified its actions in an apparent attempt to pressure vessels into paying for safe passage.
The Houthis also expanded the conflict this week by attacking ships in the Red Sea, heightening concerns over disruptions to global oil supplies, AFP reported.
The growing tensions drove international benchmark Brent crude above $100 a barrel on Thursday for the first time since May, marking an eight per cent increase as governments around the world voiced concern over the attacks. Prices remained above the $100 mark on Friday morning.
US President Donald Trump said frozen Iranian assets would be used to compensate for any damage caused to commercial shipping. Iran, however, warned that such a move would create what it described as an "incendiary precedent."
The US military said it had completed a thirteenth consecutive night of strikes targeting Iranian military installations, stating that the operations were intended to hold Iran accountable and reduce threats posed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to commercial shipping.
Iranian state media reported that US missiles struck the southwestern city of Ahvaz, while explosions were also reported in nearby Omidiyeh, the port city of Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.
The latest escalation comes after fighting resumed earlier this month following the collapse of a ceasefire that had lasted only a few weeks, plunging the region back into conflict as Iran and the United States renewed their confrontation over the strategic Strait of Hormuz.