CAIRO
\nIran reported no strikes overnight in an apparent break of nearly two weeks of consecutive nights of U.S. attacks, though tension remains high following a recent escalation over control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
\n\u201cIran had a peaceful night,\u201d Health Ministry spokesperson Hossein Kermanpour posted on X. The U.S. Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, unlike the previous 13 nights, it did not announce new strikes.
\nSirens sounded multiple times on Saturday in Saudi Arabia\u2019s Yanbu and Jizan provinces, which house crucial oil facilities on the Red Sea, according to the Saudi Civil Defense. It said the alert was for a \u201cpotential danger\u201d that was later lifted, without providing further details. Bahrain also sounded missile alerts, but no casualties have been reported.
\nA tenuous ceasefire that appeared to halt major operations in the conflict that started with American and Israeli attacks on Iran seemed to unravel early July. Iran was accused of striking three ships in the strait. The U.S. responded by striking dozens of targets in Iran, which retaliated by firing at Arab states in the region.
\nThe Strait of Hormuz, a crucial passage for world energy supplies effectively shut down by Iranian attacks, has been at the center of the conflict. The U.S. military fired Friday on a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Oman that was trying to breach its renewed blockade of Iran\u2019s ports, while Iran targeted U.S.-allied Gulf Arab countries.
\nIran\u2019s Houthi allies targeted two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea this week, raising concerns the group may again try to block Red Sea shipping routes. In response, Saudi Arabia struck the port city of Hodeida in Yemen, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said early Saturday.
\nIranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called for \u201cdiplomacy and dialogue\u201d to solve the Yemen conflict without \u201cmilitary confrontations\u201d in an interview published Saturday in the state-run Iran newspaper.
\nOn Friday, U.S. embassies in the Middle East alerted Americans in the region that options to leave could become more limited, as Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guard advised residents of neighboring countries to stay away from bases with U.S. troops.
\nThe war has so far killed more than 3,400 people in Iran, according to the Iranian Health Ministry. Eighteen U.S. service members, 24 civilians in Israel, and smaller numbers of civilians were reported dead in countries across the region.
\nIn Lebanon, more than 4,000 people have been killed, as well as 38 Israeli troops, after the Iran-backed Hezbollah militants fired at Israel in support of the Islamic Republic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
CAIRO Iran reported no strikes overnight in an apparent break of nearly two weeks of consecutive nights of U.S. attacks, though tension remains high following a recent escalation over control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz. \u201cIran had a peaceful night,\u201d Health Ministry spokesperson Hossein Kermanpour posted on X. The U.S. Central Command did not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":558419,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-558394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n