US President Donald Trump has not yet decided whether to launch major strikes on Iran, as the renewed conflict threatens to widen across the region with Saudi Arabia striking Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels. Trump said he would hold off on a major operation as Tehran was now getting "serious" in talks with Washington, dialing back reports that he was increasingly frustrated with the state of the war and mulling a large-scale military operation against Iran.
Trump emphasized that Iran has a choice between making a deal or facing a "much higher level" of strikes. The war, which Trump once predicted would last four or five weeks, is now nearing its fifth month and is impacting his approval ratings ahead of crucial US midterm elections in November. Trump added that his red line for a decision would be if Iran was close to developing a nuclear weapon.
The United States is carrying out strikes to prevent Iran from closing the crucial Strait of Hormuz. Iran has responded with strikes on US bases that have killed four service members. The Iranian military claimed attacks on US military assets in Bahrain, Jordan, and Kuwait in retaliation for Washington's latest strikes. Additionally, Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed to have targeted an Amazon data center in Bahrain, though neither Amazon nor Bahrain has confirmed this.
Trump insisted that Russia and China are not arming Iran, despite reports that both countries are feeding Tehran intelligence to target US forces. On the diplomatic front, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi in Kyrgyzstan, calling for an early resumption of negotiations and the implementation of a memorandum of understanding aimed at easing tensions in the Middle East and the Gulf region.
In a new front of the war, Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis have launched attacks on oil tankers in Red Sea shipping lanes after declaring a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia. In response, Saudi Arabia launched strikes on Yemen's Houthi-held Hodeida, with a security source telling AFP that Houthi sites were hit. This follows an attack on a Saudi ship, days after the rebels declared the blockade, which threatens the ability of the world's top oil exporter to supply global markets.
