By Skylar Woodhouse and Patrick Sykes
US President Donald Trump said renewed attacks on Iran would likely be short-lived, reiterating his claim Washington controls the Strait of Hormuz after fresh fighting spiked energy prices and rekindled fears of an open-ended war.
Asked on Wednesday how long the bombing campaign could last, Trump told reporters on Wednesday, “I don’t think too long.”
The US military carried out a second round of strikes in three days on Tuesday night, targeting radar systems and mine-laying capabilities along Iran’s southern coast. Iran retaliated with drone and missile volleys on US bases across West Asia, in line with a pattern used throughout the six-month war.
The US did not announce any strikes on Iran on Wednesday night.
“We took out all of the new equipment that they tried to build along the Strait of Hormuz — some defensive, some offensive,” Trump said of the earlier strikes. “It was a very heavy attack last night, and we’re prepared to do another one any time we want.”
Brent crude dropped following Trump’s comments. It was down 0.3 per cent in early trading on Thursday to $95.34 a barrel. The benchmark is still up around 7 per cent this week and 57 per cent this year, raising concerns about the economic impact as the Northern Hemisphere winter approaches.
Refined fuel is up even more, with American diesel pump prices near a four-year high. The jump in energy costs has contributed to the recent sell-off in global bond markets.
There are still many signals the conflict could be prolonged for months. The US is extending troop deployments in West Asia to maintain its presence of 50,000 personnel and give Trump flexibility on military options, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Kuwait’s military said early Thursday that its air defenses were responding to missile and drone threats. Kuwait, a US security partner that hosts American forces, has been a frequent target of Iranian counter-attacks.
Wedding Strike
This week’s skirmishes between the US and Iran were the first in around a month, underscoring the rising tensions over the Strait of Hormuz, with Tehran continuing to attack energy tankers and other vessels sailing through without its permission.
On Tuesday evening, the US struck around 100 targets in Iran.
Tehran accused it of hitting a wedding ceremony in the southern coastal city of Sirik, with the Iranian Red Crescent Society saying at least four people died and about 67 were injured. The organisation, which had previously put the number of fatalities at five, said the total may rise.
“The US military never targets civilians,” said US Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for US Central Command, which oversees American forces in West Asia.
Iranian officials likened the incident to a strike on an elementary school in the city of Minab during the early days of the conflict. That attack killed an estimated 120 children and is under investigation by the US military.
“This cruelty cannot be separated from the chain of atrocities that preceded it in Minab,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei posted on X. “Iran will respond to these savage crimes with firmness.”
During the month-long lull in fighting, oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz recovered to roughly half of prewar levels. The uptick could now be curtailed, affecting supplies of oil, gas and other commodities.
“Fighting drags on with no end — and no winner — in sight,” Bloomberg economists including Dina Esfandiary said in a note Wednesday, warning that surging oil prices are taxing the global economy.
Iran’s foreign ministry called on regional countries to stop letting the US use their facilities and territory to carry out attacks.
Neither the US nor Iran has shown a willingness to return to negotiations since an interim peace accord reached in June — a so-called memorandum of understanding — collapsed.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this week said Iran’s leaders were “panicked” by their country’s economic problems and predicted they would eventually be ready to negotiate.
But Iran’s trading partners have so far shrugged off his threatened “economic onslaught.”
A US naval blockade on Iranian ports is, however, stifling Iranian energy exports and hitting the Islamic Republic’s economy. Inflation is running around 80 per cent, the currency has weakened severely this year and unemployment has soared.
Fighting is intensifying beyond Iran. Israel has repeatedly attacked Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon this week, while Hamas warned that the shaky Gaza ceasefire risks collapsing after an Israeli raid Tuesday to capture a senior militant figure.