Nearly 100 US soldiers have been injured in the past two weeks following an escalation in hostilities with Iran, the Pentagon has announced, as Tehran responded to the tenth consecutive night of US air strikes, the Guardian reports.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell stated that the majority of those injured had sustained mild concussions, and that 96 per cent had already returned to duty. Parnell was responding to reports in the New York Times that the Pentagon was concealing data on soldier injuries from Iranian strikes, a claim he dismissed. In the past week, three US soldiers have been killed in Jordan and Iraq.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard announced on Tuesday that it had targeted US military positions, including air defence systems and a radar installation in Bahrain and Kuwait. Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan stated that they had activated their defences to repel the attacks.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency received reports on Tuesday that a tanker had been hit by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz, approximately eight nautical miles east of Oman’s Cape Ras Al Hadd. The crew abandoned the vessel and transferred to a lifeboat, with no pollution reported. The Revolutionary Guard claimed responsibility for the attack, as well as two previous attacks on ships.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas trade passes, has significantly slowed. The situation is further complicated by the Houthi rebels’ announcement of a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia, with the southern Bab al-Mandeb strait closed to Saudi vessels. The Saudi military has stated that the shipping lane will remain open.
The recent escalation has driven up oil prices: Brent crude was trading above $88 on Tuesday, and the average price of petrol in the US has risen to four dollars per gallon ahead of the congressional elections.
Despite the intensification, Iran’s interior minister has travelled to Pakistan for talks, a key mediator in the conflict. It remains unclear what new agreement could be reached following the collapse of the temporary ceasefire agreement signed last month.
