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(Bloomberg) — The US widened the scope of its airstrikes on Iran overnight, as President Donald Trump signaled talks were unlikely in the near-term.
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American forces struck a military site near the north-western city of Tabriz, according to Iranian media, the first time the area is thought to have been hit since hostilities between the warring sides worsened two weeks ago.
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The Iranian government also activated air defenses early on Wednesday in Tehran, the capital, Iranian media reported, adding that the US struck Abdanan and Chovar in the west, near the border with Iraq.
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Those were the 11th straight day of attacks on Iran, which again fired on US bases in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan.
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Iran’s interior minister visited Pakistan — the main mediator in the conflict along with Qatar — on Tuesday but there was no sign his meetings had deescalated tensions.
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The US says it will intensify its bombing campaign until Iran agrees to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and stop attacking energy tankers and other ships going through the vital waterway. So far, Iran isn’t backing down and has dismissed Trump’s claims it’s seeking a new round of negotiations.
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The interior ministry in Tehran said an “exchange of messages” with the US is possible although there are currently no negotiations underway, according to Mehr news agency.
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“They want to desperately meet and until they’re ready to meet in a meaningful way we have no interest” in talks, Trump said at the White House on Tuesday.
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The Iran-backed Houthis, meanwhile, have threatened to open another front in the war, telling shippers they could be targeted if they try to call at Saudi Arabian ports. The Yemen-based group is now ready for maritime attacks from positions near the Bab el-Mandeb strait at the southern end of the Red Sea, according to an alert from the Joint Maritime Information Center, a global monitoring body for naval security.
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Oil prices have jumped in the past fortnight and Brent crude traded up 3.8% to above $94.40 a barrel at 8:47 a.m. in London on Wednesday, its highest level on a closing basis in six weeks. Refined fuel prices, including wholesale diesel in Europe, are also surging.
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Bond markets have reacted, with US 10- and 30-year Treasury yields rising to roughly two-month highs on concern inflationary pressures will prompt the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates.
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Trump says US operations are seriously degrading Iran’s military power, even as the Islamic Republic continues firing on ships in Hormuz. Tehran is also causing extensive harm to US troops and bases. Late Tuesday, the Pentagon said an army sergeant was believed to have been killed last Friday during an attack on an air base in Jordan. The 28-year-old soldier had been announced as missing until then.
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