Iran and US widen attacks, raising fears

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Monday they had struck US military assets across the Middle East after another night of US bombardment of Iranian cities, part of a cycle of attacks that has all but wrecked an interim ceasefire agreement.
Oil prices briefly jumped above $90 a barrel after renewed disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, but later pared gains after Iran's Foreign Ministry said mediators had recently presented proposals to Tehran, signalling that diplomatic contacts remain active.
US President Donald Trump, under mounting political pressure at home over rising gasoline prices, defended the latest strikes on Iran as retaliation for the deaths of as many as three American service members in recent Iranian attacks.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country was in a 'full-scale war' with the United States and that Tehran should accept the repercussions of the conflict.
'The reality is that today the Islamic Republic of Iran is engaged in a full-scale war,' Pezeshkian said, adding that 'we must be realistic and accept the natural consequences of this resistance,' he said, according to a presidency statement.
The conflict has also escalated with attacks on desalination facilities, raising the prospect of water shortages across ⁠parts of the Gulf and opening a new front in a war that is increasingly threatening civilian infrastructure.
Bahrain's Civil Aviation Authority said on Monday that Iran had targeted the kingdom's civil air navigation ⁠systems, but that operations and air traffic were proceeding normally.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said two oil tankers had 'exploded' and were immobilised after attempting to transit the strait via an 'unsafe' route. On Sunday, the IRGC had said two ships were involved in an 'accident' in the same area. It was unclear whether the two incidents were related.
Reuters could not immediately verify the incident. The IRGC statement gave no details about the vessels or any casualties. Separately, a vessel was struck by an unknown projectile ‌off the coast, overlooking the Strait of Hormuz, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said. The vessel remains adrift ​but the crew are safe, it said.
In a ⁠statement, US Central Command said its ninth consecutive night of strikes against Iran aimed at 'degrading' the country's ability to attack commercial vessels in the strait's vital shipping lanes. It ​gave no further details.
Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency said US missiles had ‌struck several Iranian cities early on Monday.
Explosions were reported in Tabriz, Chabahar, Konarak, Bandar Mahshahr and Bandar Imam Khomeini. One person was killed and several others wounded southwest of Tabriz, according to state news agency Irna.
The IRGC said it targeted US aircraft at Jordan's Aqaba airport with ballistic missiles, as well as military assets at Kuwait's ​Al Adiri camp and Ali Al Salem Air Base and positions in Syria.
Sirens sounded in Bahrain on Monday morning, while Kuwait's army said it intercepted hostile drones during an Iranian attack.
Kuwait's government said a desalination plant had been attacked on Sunday for the second day running, causing a fire, in what it called a direct strike on vital civilian infrastructure. SEE ALSO P6