US-Iran War LIVE: Iran's Revolutionary Guards say they targeted Amazon infrastructure in Bahrain

The U.S. dollar hovered near a one-week high ​on Tuesday, with markets torn between conflicting Middle ​East signals, as hostilities in the region stoked renewed fears over energy supplies while hopes ​for a ceasefire offered some relief.

Against the yen, the dollar was largely flat at 162.49 yen. The euro was little changed at $1.1417, while the British pound was roughly 0.1% firmer at $1.3441 after Britain's new Prime Minister Andy Burnham vowed to stick to fiscal rules.

The U.S. dollar index, which ‌measures the currency ⁠against a ⁠basket of six peers, was steady at 100.93, after touching its highest level since July 15 in previous session.

• Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei on Monday revealed that Washington has recently transmitted messages to Tehran via third-party intermediaries, even as heavy fighting persists between the two factions.
• Addressing a news conference in Tehran, the spokesperson confirmed the backchannel communications but refrained from disclosing specifics regarding the diplomatic notes.
• "We have been informed by mediators. We have received messages, without going into details, but the main point is that the diplomatic apparatus has been active in recent days and ideas have been conveyed to us by certain mediators," the Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
• Baghaei firmly pinned the blame for the current military flare-up on Washington, asserting that the responsibility for the recent escalation lies with the US.
• Concurrently, the spokesperson issued a clear warning to neighbouring nations against allowing American forces to utilise their bases for military operations against Iran.
• "We have repeatedly emphasised that we have no hostility towards the countries of the region, but we expect them to do their duty and not allow attacks on Iran from their territory," Baghaei stated.
• Reaffirming Tehran's resolve to counter ongoing American military operations, the spokesperson warned that Iranian forces would maintain their retaliatory posture.
• He added, "As long as these crimes continue, our armed forces will respond to them."

• The Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which exports oil mainly from Kazakhstan, said on Monday that it has again suspended loadings after a brief resumption, ‌following a new ⁠Ukrainian drone ⁠attack on a tanker.
• Ukraine and Russia have stepped up attacks on vessels and other facilities in the ​Black Sea and the Sea of Azov in recent weeks, trying to undermine each other's war efforts.
• The ​closure of the pipeline, which exports almost 2% of global oil, is likely to heighten uncertainty on global oil markets that are already rattled by the war in Iran and ​closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for ⁠crude.

• U.S. gas prices jumped to an average of $4 a gallon again Monday as the U.S. and Iran launched more attacks.
• According to motor club federation AAA, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline is now back to $4. The average price a year ago was $3.14 a gallon.
• The price is a national average, meaning drivers in some states have been paying well over $4 a gallon for a while now, while others pay less. Prices vary between states due to factors ranging from nearby supply to differing tax rates.
• People around the world are also dealing with high gas prices as a result of the war.
• Gas prices first went over $4 a gallon on average at the end of March. They dipped below that in mid-June and continued to fall as crude oil prices eased when the U.S. and Iran reached an interim deal. Even then, President Donald Trump expressed frustration that gas prices weren’t falling as quickly as oil prices.
• Oil prices have climbed again in recent days as the U.S. and Iran move closer to resuming an all-out war.
• Brent crude, the international standard, rose 3.2% to $90.95 per barrel Monday and benchmark U.S. crude climbed 2.8% to $84.04 per barrel.

• A ​vessel was struck by an unknown projectile 8 nautical miles (14.8 km) northwest of ‌Oman's Kumzar, overlooking ⁠the ⁠Strait of Hormuz, the United ​Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said, adding that ​the vessel is currently adrift.
• The crew safely abandoned the vessel and have ​been recovered by a ⁠tug boat, ‌UKMTO said after ​reporting ​earlier that the vessel was ⁠on fire.
• The fire has not been ​extinguished, but no environmental impact was ​reported, UKMTO said.
• On Monday morning, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said two oil tankers "exploded" and were immobilised after attempting to transit what ‌it described as an unsafe southern route through the ​Strait of ​Hormuz. ⁠On Sunday, the Guards also pointed to two ships involved in an "accident" in ​the same area. It was unclear whether the two incidents were related.

• United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has indicated that Washington is receiving feelers through diverse channels regarding Tehran's willingness to hold talks, against the backdrop of widening fissures within the Iranian leadership.
• Speaking to CNN, Rubio remarked, "We are receiving signals through multiple channels of Iran's desire to negotiate, but there is a growing split within the regime."
• His assertions come against the backdrop of persistent military confrontations between the US and Iran. Washington has maintained that its targeted strikes are designed to degrade Tehran's military infrastructure, particularly assets tied to maritime assaults on commercial vessels transiting the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

• Kuwaiti air defences were "engaging hostile drone attacks" from Iran, the Gulf state's military said Monday.
• "The General Staff of the Army notes that any explosions heard are a result of air defense systems intercepting the hostile attacks," the Kuwait Army said in a post on its official X account.
• Iran's Revolutionary Guards said earlier Monday they had hit US military targets in Kuwait.

• Southeast Asia’s top diplomats will express alarm over renewed hostilities in the Middle East when they gather in the Philippine capital Tuesday for talks to be joined by Western and Asian counterparts, including from the United States, China, Russia and the European Union.Some of the world’s most intractable conflicts, including the latest fighting in Iran, will be high in the agenda of the annual talks held by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
• The Philippines holds the 11-nation regional bloc’s chairmanship this year and is hosting the three-day talks in Manila.
• U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are among the attendees.
• Ukraine’s top diplomat, Andrii Sybiha, has been invited to attend a Friday ceremony commemorating a 1976 nonaggression treaty of ASEAN but is not a participant in the ASEAN meetings Lavrov and Rubio will attend.
  
• Rubio and Lavrov have not announced any plans to meet each other or Sybiha while they are in Manila.

Bahrain activated missile alert sirens on Monday, warning residents of a possible Iranian retaliatory attack after fresh US airstrikes on Iran, as tensions across the Gulf escalated further.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they attacked the US-operated Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, according to Iran's Fars news agency, as Tehran widened its retaliatory strikes against American military assets in the Gulf.

US strikes hit the town of Khormoj in Iran's southwestern Bushehr province early Monday, causing power outages in parts of the administrative centre of Dashti County, Iranian semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, as Washington pressed ahead with a ninth consecutive day of military operations against Tehran.

The US Central Command said it launched a new wave of strikes targeting Iranian military command centres, air defence systems, coastal surveillance sites and maritime capabilities to degrade Tehran's ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian media reported explosions in several other cities, while tensions across the Gulf continued to escalate amid retaliatory attacks and concerns over disruptions to global oil supplies.

The US military said it successfully carried out a ninth consecutive night of strikes against Iran, targeting military command centres, air defence systems, coastal surveillance sites and maritime capabilities as Washington intensified its campaign against Tehran.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday that Iran was using the Strait of Hormuz as leverage in its confrontation with Washington, urging other countries to "step up" and respond as tensions in the strategic waterway continue to escalate.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Monday they halted two oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, the latest move by Tehran to tighten its grip over the strategic waterway amid escalating military confrontation with the United States.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed they launched ballistic missiles at US aircraft stationed at Jordan's Aqaba airport on Monday, as hostilities between Tehran and Washington intensified amid an expanding regional conflict.

The United States launched a fresh wave of airstrikes against Iran early Monday after announcing the death of another American service member, as Tehran retaliated with missile attacks targeting US allies and tensions pushed the conflict closer to a wider regional war.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy on Sunday said that two ships were involved in an accident after attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz via an "unsafe route", while two other vessels were prevented from continuing along the same route, according to Iran's state-run IRIB. In a statement carried by IRIB, the IRGC Navy alleged that four ships, "with the mischief and support of American terrorists," switched off their navigation systems and ignored warnings issued by the IRGC Navy's Strait of Hormuz Control Base. It said the vessels attempted to leave the Strait through an unsafe route. According to the statement, two of the ships were involved in an accident and were forced to stop, while the remaining two did not continue on the route.

The United States launched more airstrikes at Iran on Sunday in response to the killing of US troops, and Iran fired missiles toward Jordan that risked widening the conflict into neighbouring Israel. Step by step, the US and Iran have returned 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. Both sides have targeted civilian infrastructure relied on by millions of people. The US military said the latest strikes targeted Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard to retaliate for Friday's killing of troops in Jordan. The campaign, now in its second week, has seen the US target bridges, water desalination plants and electrical facilities in Iran. Tehran has hit US-allied countries throughout the Middle East. Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain again activated air defences for incoming Iranian drones and missiles. Israel warned that missiles launched toward neighbouring Jordan could cause fire to spill over into Israeli territory for the first time in weeks.

Jordan’s armed forces shot down three Iranian missiles targeting the kingdom, state television reported, citing the military. Separately, an Iranian missile fell in Jordan but caused no casualties or material damage, the state news agency reported, citing a military official.

The Israeli military said it detected the launch of missiles from Iran towards Aqaba in southern Jordan, warning that the attack could potentially spill over into Israeli territory. According to the military, the missiles were launched in the direction of the Jordanian port city, prompting concerns over their trajectory and the possibility of impacts or interceptions affecting Israeli territory.

Israel is preparing to receive more ​U.S. refuelling aircraft, an Israeli military official said on Sunday, as attacks launched by the United States and Iran have escalated over the past week. The U.S. and Iran have ‌intensified strikes ⁠since an ⁠interim ceasefire deal signed a month ago crumbled, raising the possibility of a return to ​all-out war. Israel has not joined the latest U.S. attacks. The Israeli official said the U.S. ​had "decided to adjust its force posture in the region" and "to reinforce the existing fleet of aerial refuelling aircraft stationed in Israel with additional refuelling aircraft."

The European Union and Gulf states have jointly called on Iran to permanently keep the Strait of Hormuz open, opposing any permits or fees on international navigation through the strategic waterway. In a joint statement, the countries also rejected what they described as any “illegitimate claims” of sovereignty or control over the strait, reaffirming the principle of freedom of navigation along one of the world’s busiest oil shipping routes.

The U.S. State Department has issued a worldwide caution for Americans, citing heightened tensions in the Middle East and the potential for unforeseen escalation. It advised U.S. citizens, particularly those in the region, to exercise increased caution, monitor local news and follow security alerts issued by the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.