The U.S. on Tuesday destroyed five Iranian tankers in response to attempted missile attacks on a Navy warship, marking the latest tit-for-tat strikes between the two countries. Earlier, Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia ignited fires at several oil facilities and wounded dozens of people. That raised the stakes in renewed fighting between a U.S. ally and an Iranian proxy just days after deadly clashes in Iran, Lebanon and Gaza.
Meanwhile, Britain's government said it is from Israeli settlements in the . Israel responded by saying it will close the British consulate in Jerusalem.
Here’s a look at the latest news in the Middle East. Full coverage can be found .
US destroys 5 Iranian tankers after attempted attacks on Navy warship
U.S. Central Command said in a social media post that it destroyed five Iranian crude oil tankers after Tehran fired missiles at a U.S. warship twice over two days.
It marked the latest tit-for-tat strikes as Washington and Tehran lurch back toward fighting during more than six months of war.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Navy has warned crews of oil tankers near ports in Kuwait and Bahrain to immediately leave their vessels, saying the ships could be targeted in retaliation for U.S. attacks on Iranian tankers.
The warning, carried by Iranian state television, said the U.S. military had targeted several Iranian oil tankers. It accused Kuwait and Bahrain of hosting U.S. forces and assisting in the attacks.
Iran strikes US targets in Jordan in tit-for-tat retaliation
Iran has launched missiles toward U.S. targets in Jordan, Iranian state-run media said, following the latest American strikes.
It’s the latest tit-for-tat retaliation after the U.S. military said it destroyed five Iranian crude oil tankers following two attacks on a U.S. warship by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard over the past two days.
U.S. Central Command, when asked about the strikes on the Jordanian air base, said it had no information to offer.
Jordan’s military said its air defense systems intercepted 18 ballistic missiles launched toward its territory and two others fell in places where people do not live. It says it has no reports of casualties. Jordan is a staunch U.S. ally that hosts American forces, making the kingdom’s military bases a .
Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia injure at least 73
A wave of Houthi attacks ignited fires at several oil facilities and utilities in Saudi Arabia’s southern region, injuring at least 73 people, officials said.
The attacks early Tuesday marked a major escalation in the renewed conflict between an important U.S. ally and the Iranian-backed rebels in . They follow weeks of intensifying between the Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces in Yemen, which shattered a four-year truce in the country’s civil war.
The flare-up brings further instability to a region scarred by nearly three years of wars and threatens to squeeze shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a critical trade route that has helped cushion the blow from Iran's chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz.
The attacks hit “civilian and economic facilities” in the Saudi cities of Abha, Jazan, Najran and Khamis Mushait, said Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, a spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen.
UK announces Israeli settlement sanctions
The U.K. announced it is banning trade with Israeli settlements in the saying an expansion program there is endangering efforts to establish a Palestinian state.
British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said that “settler terrorists” are carrying out “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians. He said the U.K. will ban imports of all goods from the settlements as well as some services.
Israel will close the British consulate in Jerusalem, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said on Tuesday. He said Israel will also expel U.K. representatives from a joint military center monitoring the Gaza ceasefire and end U.K. training of the Palestinian Authority’s security forces in the West Bank.
Israeli Prime Minister 's government has presided over in the West Bank, which Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast war and which would make up the main part of a future Palestinian state.
The international community considers the settlements illegal or illegitimate, and the Palestinians say they are the main barrier to lasting peace. Netanyahu’s government views the West Bank as the biblical and historical homeland of the Jewish people and opposes the creation of a Palestinian state.
Iran says it seized a US underwater drone
Iran’s navy captured one of the U.S. military’s underwater drones at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, Iranian state television reported, saying the unmanned vessel had been “seized as a prize.”
Asked about the report, U.S. Central Command spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins said that an Anduril Dive-LD drone malfunctioned “more than a day ago” while surveying waters in the region and that the U.S. military no longer had possession of it.
Hawkins said the drone was a defective, older model that “neither collected sensitive data nor carried any classified sonar or radar equipment.”
“It was in a commercially available configuration so we aren’t concerned,” Hawkins said.
A child is among 2 people killed by gunfire in Gaza
A child was among at least two people killed on Tuesday by Israeli troops in Gaza, according to hospital officials.
A 10-year-old boy died after forces opened fire near tents sheltering displaced Palestinians east of Khan Younis, according to Nasser Hospital. It said Israeli fire also killed a 69-year-old man south of Khan Younis.
Hospital officials said both victims died on the Palestinian side of the “yellow line” that separates areas of Gaza occupied by the Israeli military. Palestinians near the dividing line have faced heightened danger from Israeli fire.
Separately, an Israeli strike in Nuseirat refugee camp wounded 10 people, Al-Awda Hospital said.
Residents in several areas said they received evacuation warnings, followed by strikes in Khan Younis, Bureij refugee camp and Gaza City.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the attacks.
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This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.
