US strikes escalate in Gulf as Iran warns more attacks coming soon.

The United States has launched a twelfth consecutive night of strikes against targets in Iran. Tehran responded by warning that more attacks are coming across the Gulf region unless its security is guaranteed. The country's negotiator stated plainly, "If our security is not ensured, no infrastructure will be safe." US Central Command confirmed on Wednesday that these operations were designed to further degrade Iran's ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters.

The violence has escalated quickly. Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency reported explosions near Bushehr in southern Iran. Meanwhile, Kuwait said its air defenses are currently confronting an Iranian drone attack. The United States is now open to negotiations, yet Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Tehran does not appear serious about a deal. Another US official noted that Iran is "in a lot of trouble." But the cost keeps climbing. Analysts point out the war's $37 billion price tag and ask why the Pentagon wants an additional $67 billion.

Both sides have been targeting civilian infrastructure, which constitutes a war crime under international law unless it serves a military purpose. Iran's Ministry of Health reported that US attacks since late last month have killed 53 people, including three children, and injured 590 others. In retaliation, Iran has struck US allies Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan this week. They hit water and power plants in Kuwait. An Iranian strike on an air base in Jordan on Friday killed three US service members. A fourth US soldier died in Erbil, Iraq, on Sunday during a controlled detonation of an attack drone. Their deaths brought the total number of US personnel killed during the war to 18, according to the US military.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran would retaliate "an eye for an eye" against any future attacks. He warned that aggression against Iran, including its infrastructure, will compel a powerful and decisive response. The Iranian military added that threats from Washington will have no result other than the expansion of the war. Mehran Kamrava, a professor of government at Georgetown University in Qatar, told Al Jazeera that neither side wants to look weak by backing down. Yet he noted Iran is running out of options regarding the number of regional targets they can attack without causing more severe lasting damage to its standing.

Trump said he "had enough of waiting." The escalating attacks have led both sides to say they have abandoned the interim peace deal they signed last month, at least for now. A major point of contention remains the status of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has insisted on maintaining control over. If security is not ensured, no infrastructure will be safe, as Ghalibaf warned in a post on X Wednesday after President Trump threatened to attack more Iranian power plants and bridges. In a region where we do not sell oil, no one will sell oil, he said. The situation risks trapping communities between continued bombardment from the north and retaliatory strikes from southern allies.

The US military's Central Command insists the Strait of Hormuz stays open for shipping even as Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps unleashes threats and attacks against it. This tension has rippled across the region, with Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen now eyeing another critical energy artery: the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. They have declared a blockade on Saudi ports, forcing five tankers to alter their routes in the Red Sea just to avoid trouble.

Donald Trump stepped up the pressure this Wednesday by laying down a hard line. He stated that for every ship targeted in the strait by Iranian forces, Washington will strike one power plant or bridge inside Iran itself. That stance leaves little room for maneuvering as diplomats scramble to fix what looks like a crumbling US-Iran deal.

Muhanad Seloom, an assistant professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, told Al Jazeera that President Trump has had enough of waiting on Tehran. "President Trump had enough of waiting on the Iranians," Seloom said. He added that no mediator currently holds the credibility needed to drag Iranian officials into a negotiation room.

Marco Rubio spoke with equal sharpness at a gathering of southeast Asian foreign ministers in Manila on Wednesday. He argued that Iran shows no real interest in diplomacy despite their own overtures to Washington. "If they're serious, we're serious," Rubio told reporters. "If they're not, then we will do what's necessary to protect our interests, and also the interests of our allies."

These threats shake the foundation of global energy security. If the Strait of Hormuz or the Bab al-Mandeb closes even for a short time, oil prices could spike and supply chains would choke. Governments must act fast to prevent chaos from spreading to communities that rely on cheap fuel and stable markets. The risk is clear: escalation could turn regional skirmishes into a wider conflict that no one wants.