U.S. forces launch what the military describes as precision strikes targeting Iranian military capabilities for the eighth consecutive night. (Credit: U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM)/AFP)
The United States expanded the scope of its strikes on Iran on Monday, targeting provinces across the country, including one hosting its only operational nuclear power plant, as the Islamic republic kept up attacks across the region.
Iran said on Monday diplomatic exchanges with the United States through mediators were continuing despite the U.S. strikes.
"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," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said at a news conference in Tehran attended by AFP.
The Middle East war resumed after a weeks-long lull following a June agreement, while oil prices rose to a one-month high as the two sides battled for control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
After its truce with the United States collapsed, Tehran reimposed its blockade of the waterway, through which about one-fifth of global oil supplies transited before the war. Washington responded by again blockading Iran's ports.
While U.S. strikes since the return to fighting had mainly targeted areas near Hormuz, Monday's attacks hit provinces elsewhere in the country, including central and northern Iran, according to state media and local authorities.
All the provinces targeted host military bases and air defense systems.
In Bushehr, home to Iran's only operational civilian nuclear power plant, Gov. Mohammad Mozaffari told state news agency IRNA: "A few minutes ago, several locations in Bushehr city were hit by American enemy's projectiles."
In East Azerbaijan province, local crisis management chief Majid Farshi told IRNA that "one person was martyred and several others injured" in an attack.
Despite the latest strikes, Baghaei reiterated that diplomatic contacts with Washington through mediators were continuing.
"Ideas have been conveyed to us by certain mediators," he said.
Ship on fire
In the Strait of Hormuz, sailors abandoned a vessel that caught fire after being struck by an unknown projectile, according to the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency.
"The vessel was struck by an unknown projectile. The crew safely abandoned the vessel and have been recovered by a tug boat. The fire has not been extinguished and the vessel is currently adrift," UKMTO said.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards had earlier said that two oil tankers attempting to transit the strait "exploded and were brought to a halt," according to a statement carried by Tasnim news agency.
On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on other countries to share the burden of protecting global shipping.
"It's clear that Iran, at least some people in Iran, want to control the straits and hold that as leverage against the world," Rubio told reporters.
"The United States will do and continue to do what it needs to, to protect global shipping, but other countries need to begin to step up and provide, whether it's hardware or finances, to help carry that burden," he said.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Sunday it had completed a ninth consecutive night of strikes against Iran, while Rubio said he would "continue to try" to reach a diplomatic solution.
The renewed fighting followed a weekend in which the United States announced three additional military fatalities and one service member missing in action.
Two service members were killed during Iranian missile and drone attacks on Jordan on Friday. Another died in northern Iraq during the controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian drone, CENTCOM said.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that the latest U.S. strikes on Iran "hit them very hard" in response to the American fatalities.
The deaths bring the confirmed number of U.S. military fatalities since the war began with a large-scale U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran to 17.
On Friday, Iran's Health Ministry said 50 people had been killed and more than 500 wounded in recent fighting.
Iran strikes neighbors
Iran's Revolutionary Guard said Monday they had struck targets in Syria, Jordan and Kuwait overnight.
In Syria, Iranian forces launched "a surprise attack on the enemy special operations command centre in the Al-Tanf region," according to a Guards statement carried by state media.
The United States withdrew its troops from Tanf in February.
In Jordan, the Guards said they targeted U.S. military aircraft stationed at Aqaba Airport "with ballistic missiles, causing severe damage to a number of them."
The Guards also said they struck U.S. military targets in Kuwait, including an early-warning radar system that they claimed was "completely destroyed."
Kuwait's military said its air defenses were "engaging hostile drone attacks following Iranian aggression" on Monday.
Bahrain's Interior Ministry also said air strike sirens had sounded and urged citizens and residents to head to "the nearest safe place."
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