Iran, Gulf hit as Hormuz, Bab al-Mandeb close: What’s the latest?

EXPLAINERDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth tells US senators that the war has cost the US $37.5bn so far.The conflict in the Middle East has widened as two oil tankers headed to Asia, carrying Saudi crude, turned around in the Red Sea on Tuesday after Yemen’s Houthis announced a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia.The closure of the Bab al-Mandeb strait that connects the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean adds pressure on global trade routes, with ongoing disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz due to the ongoing US-Israel war on Iran.Escalations continue, as the United States announced that it concluded its 11th round of attacks on Iran. Tehran retaliated, hitting US military targets in the Gulf.Here is a recap of what happened on Tuesday night and Wednesday.Where did the US attack Iran?The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said that at 00:15 GMT on Wednesday, it concluded its latest round of strikes against Iran for the 11th consecutive night.CENTCOM said it targeted Iranian military operations centres, maritime capabilities, aircraft hangars, drone storage facilities and military logistics infrastructure “to further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz”.The CENTCOM statement claimed that over the past three months, Iran had attacked more than 30 commercial vessels traversing the Strait.The deputy governor of Iran’s southwestern Khuzestan Province told the Fars News Agency in Iran that US missile attacks targeted areas near the cities of Behbahan and Omidiyeh in the province on Wednesday.The agency also reported that early on Wednesday, US forces attacked a military site on the outskirts of Tabriz in northwestern Iran. Al Jazeera’s Tohid Assidi reported from Iranian capital Tehran that explosions were heard in Tabriz.