US launches more strikes on Iran as conflict spreads across region

The US carried out fresh strikes in Iran on Wednesday, the US military said, further intensifying a five-month-old war that was already expanding beyond its main fronts to embroil additional countries in the region.“US forces began launching strikes against Iran at 8pm ET today,” US Central Command said in a statement.“The strikes are a powerful response to yesterday’s attempted Iranian attacks on US forces based in the Middle East.”Earlier on Wednesday, a drone hit a US-owned gas storage tanker at Egypt’s ‌Mediterranean port of Damietta, British maritime security firm Ambrey said in an initial assessment, while US and Saudi forces launched strikes against Iran-aligned groups in eastern Iraq and Iran fired missiles at US troops in Jordan.A statement from Egypt’s petroleum ministry confirmed a fire at the port but made no mention of a drone attack. It was not immediately clear who was responsible.The latest strikes in Iraq and Egypt threatened to draw more Middle Eastern countries into the conflict, after the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen last week declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia.