Hormuz flashpoint deepens as tanker explosions, fresh strikes and military threats fuel Iran conflict

The Iran-US conflict intensified sharply on Saturday as US forces carried out a seventh consecutive night of strikes, while reported explosions involving two oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, increasingly defiant rhetoric from Tehran and reports that Washington was weighing an expansion of its military campaign fuelled fears of a broader regional war.

Amid the escalating hostilities, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that Iranian forces attacked a Thai-flagged vessel attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz, while the deputy governor of Bushehr said the US had attacked an Iranian oil tanker docked at Kharg Island.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said two oil tankers caught fire after striking mines while attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz.

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"An hour ago, two oil tankers, which were trying to pass through the minefield south of the Strait of Hormuz by deceptive American intelligence agencies, exploded and caught fire," the Guards said in a statement published by state news agency IRNA, without identifying the vessels.

The Guards also said they had "stopped" four ships attempting to transit the strategic waterway.

"In the past hours, four violating ships with the support of the terrorist US army were trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, and all four ships were stopped in place during a combined missile and drone operation," the Guards said in a statement carried by state broadcaster.

US carries out seventh straight night of strikes

US Central Command said American forces carried out a seventh consecutive night of strikes on Iran, describing the operation as part of an ongoing effort to "continue degrading Iranian military capabilities", according to a statement posted on X.

Iranian state media reported that three people were killed and eight wounded in southern Iran following the latest US strikes.

Iran also accused the US of targeting civilian infrastructure, including an airport, a railway station and two bridges, though there was no confirmation from the US side that such facilities had been struck.

Trump weighs broader military options

According to Axios, the Trump administration has informed Israel that it is sending "dozens more" refuelling aircraft ahead of a possible expansion of military operations.

The report said President Donald Trump is considering a "massive offensive" in Iran, with options including strikes on power plants and nuclear sites, and that an escalation could be ordered "in the coming days".

Tehran warns of wider offensive

Senior Iranian official Mohsen Rezaee warned that Tehran's military response would intensify if US attacks continued.

"If US attacks continue over the next two to three days, the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will move beyond the stage of deterrence and retaliation and enter the phase of 'offence and complete destruction', such that US bases and soldiers beyond political borders will be pursued and directly targeted. The United States should know that the attritional strategy of “war and negotiation” has reached a dead end, and in the coming days, the intensity of Iran’s attacks will increase."

Major General Mohsen Rezaei, a senior military adviser to Iran's supreme leader, said Tehran would resume "full-scale offensive operations" if US strikes continued for another two or three days.

"Iran will no longer limit itself to retaliatory, like-for-like responses...and no political border will be safe," Rezaei said, according to IRIB.

Iranian Revolutionary Guards aerospace force commander Majid Mousavi also said "targeted strikes from across Iran against the enemy will continue" until the US halted operations against Iranian coastal facilities in the south and around the Strait of Hormuz.

Conflict spreads across the region

Tehran, on Friday, launched attacks on Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain after Washington expanded its bombing campaign to include bridges, ports and energy infrastructure inside Iran.

The US strikes, which marked Washington's sixth consecutive attack on Iran, targeted bridges in Hormozgan province, including key routes linking Bandar Abbas, one of the country's most important commercial ports, with the rest of Iran. Iranian media reported casualties from the strikes, while authorities also confirmed damage to power infrastructure in the southern provinces.

Iran's Energy Ministry urged people to reduce electricity consumption and limit air-conditioner use during peak hours after saying US strikes had placed additional pressure on the country's energy infrastructure.

Following Iranian attacks on Friday, Kuwait said an assault damaged a power and water plant, while its military reported that several troops were wounded after Iranian drones targeted multiple bases and camps.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards also said they had targeted US radar systems and military aircraft in Qatar to "punish the aggressor", while Doha said it had intercepted a missile attack.

The war, which began on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, has continued despite a ceasefire and a memorandum of understanding, both of which have since collapsed. Tehran responded by effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route for global oil supplies, and launching attacks against Israel and US interests across the Gulf.