U.S. steps up strikes on Iran, disables ship it says tried to break naval blockade

U.S. steps up strikes on Iran, disables ship it says tried to break naval blockade JON GAMBRELL DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PUBLISHED 2 HOURS AGO UPDATED 1 HOUR AGO Open this photo in gallery: Motorists drive along Tehran's Enghelab Square on July 15, 2026, past a giant anti-U.S. billboard. -/AFP/GETTY IMAGES SHARE SAVE FOR LATER Listen to this article Learn more about audio Log in or create a free account to listen to this article. The United States intensified its strikes on Iran early Thursday, hitting targets further north as American forces also fired into a ship it accused of trying to break its naval blockade on the Islamic Republic. Iran retaliated with missile and drone fire targeting U.S. allies in the region before dawn and warned its attacks may escalate. Days of back-and-forth strikes by the U.S. and Iran across the Middle East – and renewed threats to the Strait of Hormuz – have shredded the interim deal to end the Iran war and could tip the region back into all-out war. Already, Iranian officials say U.S. strikes have killed more than 35 people and wounded over 300 others. Strikes also reached into areas around Iran’s capital, Tehran, for the first time in this latest round of violence, showing a widening set of targets for the Americans. Trump to address defence summit as Iran war depletes U.S. weapon stockpiles When the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Iran on Feb. 28, Tehran effectively closed the strait to shipping traffic, a move that sent the price of oil, fertilizer and many other goods soaring far beyond the region and gave Iran major leverage in negotiations. Col. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesperson for the Iranian military’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, threatened that Iran could launch widespread attacks on regional infrastructure if the U.S. acts on President Donald Trump’s repeated warnings that America could hit Iranian bridges and power plants. “All the infrastructure in the region will be crushed under the steel blows of the powerful armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran” should Trump’s threat be carried out, Zolfaghari said. “Under no circumstances and in no way will we allow America, as a foreign and extra-regional country, to interfere in the Strait of Hormuz,” he added. “This is Iran’s invincible red line.” Open this photo in gallery: Three boys play in the shallow waters of the Strait of Hormuz, as a plume of smoke rises from an explosion in the background, on July…