American war-planners are surging Special Forces units, more weapons and bombers into the Middle East after a 12th night of bombing on Iran has failed to force Tehran to back down over the Strait of Hormuz crisis. They completed another night of large-scale attacks on Iran, smashing Tehran’s attack boats, missile and drone silos and defence positions.
The five hour attack lasted from late last night through to the early hours before Tehran’s proxy commando teams attacked two Saudi vessels, leaving one ablaze. Yemeni Houthis attacked the Saudi Arabian oil tankers in the Red Sea, after declaring a strikes maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia, significantly widening the war in Iran.
More Military Assets Deployed
Sources have told the Daily Mirror the US is sending in more military assets, led by a large contingent of special forces commandos. More fighter squadrons have been positioned in Middle Eastern bases and US and UK troops in the region are on high-alert for an increase in the war's tempo.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf stormed: "The equation of this war is clear - either all or none. In a region where we do not sell oil, no one will sell oil. We have repeatedly said that the situation of the Strait will not return to pre-war conditions."
Iranian state TV said two people were killed and 11 wounded in what a Khuzestan provincial official described as a US missile attack on the Shalamcheh border crossing with Iraq.
Rubio Claims Iran Privately Seeking Deal
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed Iran is privately pressing Washington for a deal to end the war but Tehran is not yet “ready” to accept one. He added: “Iran is begging us, both directly and indirectly, ‘Let’s do a deal. Let’s talk.’”
“The problem with Iran is every time they make a deal, the people in charge either break it or they want to change it. So it looks like they’re not ready to make a deal, so they’re going to continue to pay a price, and every night the price gets higher and higher.
“Iran can be the richest country in the Middle East if they wanted to be. But instead, they take their money, and they use it and they give it to Hezbollah. They give it to Hamas. They give it to the Houthis. They give it to Shia militias. They give it to sponsored terrorism all over the world.”
Houthi Threat to Blockade Saudi Arabia
The Houthi rebels' threat to blockade Saudi Arabia could expand the Iran war and further cripple global oil supplies and international trade. The Iran-backed rebels say they have closed the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Saudi-linked shipping in retaliation for the kingdom’s blockade on Yemen and a recent attack on Sanaa airport. Bab el-Mandeb, at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, is a vital shipping chokepoint, connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.
As much as 12% of the world’s trade, including a fourth of global container traffic, passes through the narrows. The strait has become even more vital for Saudi oil exports since the disruption of the Strait of Hormuz during the Iran war has severely limited shipping out of the Persian Gulf. The Houthis had said they would only stop vessels connected to Saudi Arabia or going in and out of its Red Sea ports.
But during a similar blockade announced against Israel over the war in Gaza, the rebels attacked many vessels with little or no connection to that conflict. Dozens more US warplanes have been deployed to the region to bolster a huge armada parked in the Arabian Sea and squadrons of fighters based in bases in places such as Jordan.
