Iran targets US military sites, Houthis make port threats

Tensions escalated in the Gulf as Iran's Revolutionary Guards announced attacks on U.S. radar and air defense systems, issuing a stern warning of "more decisive and powerful" strikes to come. The Guards claimed to have intercepted two oil tankers attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz, part of Iran's efforts to assert control over the vital waterway.

These actions followed recent U.S. strikes against Iranian military targets, launched in retaliation for the deaths of at least three American soldiers in recent days. The Pentagon stated these attacks were aimed at degrading Iran's military capabilities used against commercial shipping.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian described the conflict as having escalated into a "full-scale war." The U.S. military reported nearly 100 service members wounded, mostly with minor concussions, since July 7.

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With this radar sweep, the enemy should prepare for even more decisive and powerful waves of drone and missile attacks.

Adding to the regional instability, Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen threatened to broaden the conflict by blockading Saudi ports. Such a move could significantly disrupt Saudi Arabia's oil exports, which utilize Red Sea ports to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, and could have major repercussions for the global economy. Saudi Arabia condemned the Houthi threat, calling them a "terrorist militia."

Oil prices saw a brief surge to a one-month high amid concerns over the security of energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint through which approximately one-fifth of the world's oil passed during peacetime. While prices eased slightly, concerns about the flow of energy supplies remain.

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the conflict had become 'a full-scale war'.