A 10th straight day of attacks between the US and Iran across the Middle East have overshadowed diplomatic efforts to salvage an interim ceasefire deal that collapsed.
Iranian interior minister Eskandar Momeni visited leaders in Pakistan, a key mediator in the conflict seeking to rejuvenate diplomacy, but it was unclear what new arrangement might be reached to end the war, which has become a battle for control over the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway vital to world energy supplies.
US President Donald Trump said the US had “no interest in meeting”, and signalled that American forces could target an area of Iran close to one of its main sites for enriching uranium.
With negotiations and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz largely stalled, both sides have sought to gain leverage by targeting civilian infrastructure relied on by millions of people.
A barrage of US strikes has not loosened Iran’s grip on the strait, through which about a fifth of the world’s crude oil and natural gas was shipped before the war.
The US continued its air strikes on the Islamic Republic on Tuesday, and Iran attacked a tanker in the strait, forcing the crew to abandon the ship.
Iran also kept up attacks against US allies in the region. Sirens in Bahrain and Kuwait warned residents of incoming projectiles.
The escalation pushed energy prices higher, and with US mid-term elections approaching in the autumn, polls have pointed to the unpopularity of the war among Americans, who have felt the pain of pricier fuel and seen new casualties in a conflict that weeks ago seemed to be winding down.
In the Red Sea, Iran-backed Houthi rebels have opened a new front against Saudi Arabia by declaring a naval blockade of the kingdom, threatening the flow of global oil supplies and trade.
With the Strait of Hormuz blocked, Saudi Arabia has been relying on a pipeline to the Red Sea to get millions of barrels of oil to market.
Saba, a Houthi news agency in Yemen, said on Tuesday that six ships in the Red Sea had been forced to reroute after they received warnings from the rebel group. The Associated Press could not immediately confirm the claim.
Three Houthi officials said the group warned international shipping companies on Monday to avoid the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the gateway to the Red Sea at the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula.
Mr Momeni met Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, according to two officials, and then Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
In a statement, Mr Sharif expressed deep concern over the recent escalation between the US and Iran, and urged all sides to exercise restraint and avoid actions that could further destabilise the region.
Pakistan’s political leadership and Mr Munir played a key role in brokering last month’s interim agreement between Washington and Tehran. Islamabad has been working to persuade both sides to return to the negotiating table.
Mr Trump told reporters that Iranian officials “want to desperately meet. And until they’re ready to meet in a meaningful way, we have no interest in meeting”.
He said the US would soon target the area near Pickaxe Mountain — a fortified underground site near one of Iran’s primary nuclear enrichment facilities.
A deep level of mistrust persists on both sides. Iran came under a surprise attack in June 2025 and again in February while it was engaging in nuclear negotiations with the US. The interim deal unravelled when Iran resumed attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, which was supposed to be reopened under the agreement.
The US military’s Central Command said on Tuesday that it targeted “Iranian military command centres, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and air defence systems”. It released more footage of bombings that targeted sites in Iran.
“American forces remain postured and prepared to hold Iran accountable for unwarranted aggression toward civilian mariners seeking to freely and openly transit the strait,” the command said.
Iranian state media reported that explosions were heard in Fars, Hormozgan, Ilam, Kerman, and Sistan and Baluchistan provinces.
The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said a tanker came under attack early on Tuesday in the strait off Oman, forcing the crew to abandon the vessel.
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed the attack, as well as two others on ships on Monday in the waterway.
The route around Oman has been the one the US military has encouraged ships to travel to avoid Iran’s control.
Tehran also hit US-allied countries throughout the Middle East.
Jordan’s military said on Tuesday that Iran targeted it with five drones and three missiles, all of which were shot down. Bahrain sounded its missile alert sirens on Tuesday afternoon as another Iranian barrage targeted the island kingdom, which is home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet.
The Kuwaiti government said Iran had struck desalination and power plants for a fourth straight day on Monday night. Authorities said the attacks sparked fires and caused damage.
US strikes have been hitting electrical equipment in Iran as well, and Iranian officials also said Americans had targeted water facilities.
United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres called the attacks on civilian infrastructure “unacceptable” and a violation of international law.
