US Iran war news Highlights: Iran threatens to cut Gulf oil supplies, hit energy network if US acts on threats

US stock markets traded mixed as investors monitored the escalating conflict involving Iran.

Brent crude oil surged 3.4% to $94.07 a barrel, briefly crossing $95, its highest level in nearly six weeks.

Oil prices have climbed sharply from below $72 earlier this month, before the war with Iran escalated.

US President Donald Trump said Americans were not opposed to the war with Iran, even as recent polls showed many believe the conflict is not worth fighting.

"Americans aren't against the war," Trump said speaking to reporters before departing for Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to attend the dignified transfer of US service members killed in the war.

He added, "A poll, a poll just came out, Americans don't want high gasoline prices, but they're not against the war."

A Washington Post-Ipsos poll released last week found that 68 per cent of Americans believed the war was not "worth fighting", while only 28 per cent said it was.

An Economist/YouGov poll found that 55 per cent of respondents wanted the US to stop attacking Iran, compared with 27 per cent who supported continuing the strikes.

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels have issued radio warnings to ships in the Red Sea after announcing a maritime blockade targeting Saudi Arabia, according to the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), while vessel-tracking data showed several ships changed course following the threat. (AFP)

US President Donald Trump attended a ceremony at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to honour four American service members killed in Iranian attacks in the Middle East.

The four troops returned to US soil in flag-draped caskets during a "dignified transfer" ceremony.

Trump saluted as military personnel carried the transfer cases from the aircraft and placed them into waiting vehicles while family members of the fallen watched nearby.

"We're going to honor them. For me it's one of the hardest things to do as a president. But it has to be done," Trump said before attending the ceremony.

Trump on the message he had for the families of the fallen troops: "All I'm going to say is, we love you. We love your child, and that's what they are to them. They're their children. There's no games, no nothing."

US President Donald Trump said Americans are "not against the war" with Iran despite recent opinion polls suggesting otherwise.

Speaking to reporters before departing for Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to attend the dignified transfer of US service members killed in the war, Trump said: "Americans aren't against the war," Trump said. He added, "A poll, a poll just came out, Americans don't want high gasoline prices, but they're not against the war."

"At the gist of that issue is the fact Iran is in the middle of it. Talking about the troublemaker of the region, it's Iran," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told ASEAN leaders in Manila.

"If we create a precedent in the Middle East where a nation-state can decide that they are going to control an international waterway, charge a toll and if you don't pay them, blow up your ships, we have created a very dangerous precedent which will repeat itself in other parts of the world, including in this region," Rubio said.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Manila came against the backdrop of escalating military exchanges between the United States and Iran.

During discussions with ASEAN foreign ministers, Rubio blamed Tehran for the continued instability in the Middle East and questioned Iran's willingness to negotiate.

"The problem we're having right now is that they're not serious about talks," Rubio said.

"If they're serious, we're serious. If they're not, then we will do what's necessary to protect our interests, and also the interests of our allies."

Rubio also warned that Iran could not be allowed to control the Strait of Hormuz, saying such a precedent would threaten international shipping and global trade.

The United States condemned Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels after the group announced a naval blockade targeting Saudi Arabia and threatened commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

"Anything that restricts shipping through the Red Sea would be problematic for the same reasons that the Strait of Hormuz is problematic," Rubio said. He added that Washington had been in contact with Saudi Arabia several times over the past week regarding the Houthi threats.

Rubio argued that Iran remained the main source of instability in the region. "Talking about the troublemaker in the region, it's Iran."

The disruption of Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb - two of the world's most important maritime chokepoints pushed oil prices sharply higher.

Brent crude futures rose 2.45% to $93.24 a barrel after touching an intraday high of $95.47, the highest level in nearly six weeks.

US gasoline prices also climbed above $4 per gallon, adding pressure on President Donald Trump ahead of November's midterm elections.

Four additional oil tankers rerouted on Wednesday after Iran-backed Houthi rebels warned Saudi oil shipments against using the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

The latest diversions followed three tankers that changed course a day earlier, underscoring growing disruption to one of the world's key maritime trade routes.

The Houthi warning comes amid Iran's near-total blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20% of global oil and natural gas trade normally passes.

Saudi Arabia has been routing crude oil to its Red Sea export terminal at Yanbu via pipelines to avoid the Strait of Hormuz.

With both the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb under threat, the Suez Canal has become the main alternative route, adding weeks to shipping times and increasing transportation costs.

The disruption to two critical energy chokepoints has intensified concerns over global oil supplies and higher energy prices.

Trump wrote on Truth Social; "From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT, including those located next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran."

Missile alerts were issued in Bahrain, while Saudi Arabia urged residents in the eastern city of Dammam to seek shelter amid the regional escalation.

Saudi authorities later lifted the warning, saying the immediate threat had passed without providing further details.

Iran has repeatedly targeted Gulf countries hosting US military assets in retaliation for American airstrikes on Iranian territory.

The alerts came as the US launched its 11th consecutive night of airstrikes on Iran, prompting Tehran to respond with missile and drone attacks, including strikes targeting Jordan.

Jordan's military said it intercepted four Iranian missiles and four drones targeting the Red Sea port city of Aqaba, while two missiles landed in uninhabited areas.

The attack targeted Aqaba, Jordan's southern port city located near Israel's city of Eilat, marking another escalation in the regional conflict.

Videos filmed from Eilat showed smoke rising over Aqaba, according to the Associated Press, underscoring how close the strikes came to Israel's border.

The attack came as the US launched its 11th consecutive night of airstrikes on Iran, with Tehran responding through missile and drone attacks across the region.

Hardline Iranian newspaper Kayhan on Wednesday threatened strikes on US nuclear facilities if the United States attacks Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site or other nuclear facilities.

“If Iran’s nuclear facilities are targeted again, the Islamic Republic will launch devastating strikes on US nuclear sites from undisclosed locations under its deterrence doctrine and the principle of ‘an eye for an eye,’” Kayhan wrote.

Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni and his delegation will travel to India after visiting Pakistan to attend a meeting of BRICS member countries, Iran’s state media reported on Wednesday.

Iran’s army said on Wednesday that it launched drone attacks on what it described as US military facilities at Al-Azraq base in Jordan and Isa Air Base in Bahrain.

It said the alleged targets included accommodation and equipment storage facilities in Jordan and storage and aircraft maintenance hangars in Bahrain.

Iran’s army said on Wednesday that it launched a large drone attack on what it described as US ammunition storage and logistics facilities in Al-Dawha, Kuwait.

The army said the attack was in response to renewed strikes on parts of Iran

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran is “not serious about talks” during his opening remarks at the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Wednesday in Manila, Philippines, CNN reported.

“The US is always committed to diplomacy,” Rubio said. “We are open minded and always willing to engage, negotiate and settle differences.”

Rubio said that “the problem we’re having right now (with Iran) is that they’re not serious about talks. If they’re serious, we’re serious. If they’re not, then we will do what is necessary to protect our interest and also the interests of our allies.”

Areas in Iran’s Ilam and Kurdistan provinces were targeted in reported airstrikes, official media said on Tuesday.

The reports said the Chavar and Abdanan areas in Ilam province were hit, with Abdanan’s governor confirming an attack on the Dinar Kuh area. They also said an area outside the city limits of Baneh in Kurdistan province was targeted.

Iran restored parts of its missile capabilities after US and Israeli strikes targeted its weapons infrastructure earlier in the war, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing military analysts and satellite imagery.

The report said Iran resumed operations at some underground missile facilities and continued launching missiles and drones at US forces and regional allies despite claims by President Donald Trump and US officials that Tehran’s missile capabilities had been severely degraded.