Middle East Crisis Heightens as US carries out Ninth Night of strikes on Iran

The US-Iran hostilities continue as US forces launched a ninth consecutive night of strikes against Iran on Monday as the number of confirmed American military service member deaths in the renewed fighting increased to three.

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‎The US military said the service member was killed on Saturday in northern Iraq, where the US has military bases, during a controlled detonation of a downed Iranian attack drone.

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‎Additionally,CENTCOM said, the strikes were aimed at “degrading” Iran’s ability to attack commercial vessels in the strait of Hormuz.

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‎In retaliation, US ⁠missiles struck several Iranian cities early on Monday, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency. Explosions were heard in Tabriz, Chabahar, Konarak, Bandar Mahshahr and Bandar Imam Khomeini, it said.

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‎US president, Donald Trump said the latest American strikes were being carried out in honour of the US service members killed in recent days.

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‎The reignited war has raised fuel concerns as the price of Brent crude oil climbed above $90 a barrel, the highest level since June.

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‎As the strikes began early Monday, a ship caught fire in the strait of Hormuz near the coastline of Oman.

‎Although, It was unclear what sparked the blaze off Oman, in the southern corridor the US military has encouraged ships to use to avoid Iran’s control.

‎The Revolutionary Guards later claimed two oil tankers were blown up after attempting to transit through the southern route of the strait, but there was no independent confirmation.

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‎The US and Iran have inched closer to all-out war as last month’s interim deal meant to permanently end the fighting has crumbled and shipping traffic in the strait of Hormuz has largely stalled.

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‎Iran continued to retaliate by hitting US-allied countries throughout the Middle East, with sirens heard in Bahrain early on Monday.

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‎In a reported statement ,Iran’s Revolutionary Guards also claimed to have launched a “surprise attack” on an enemy command centre in a region of Syria.

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‎After Iran targeted sites in Jordan on Sunday, Israel warned of the danger of the strikes spilling across its borders, reigniting a direct regional conflict that had been restrained even as tensions between the Trump administration and Iran have soared again.

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