Trump threatens a major escalation in Iran as the war nears the 5-month mark

AMMAN, Jordan — The U.S. continued airstrikes in Iran on Friday while Tehran launched retaliatory attacks on U.S. targets in the Gulf as the region braced itself after President Trump said he was close to deciding whether to launch "a massive attack."

"I am considering a massive attack. Bigger than ever before. I am close to making a decision," Trump told the Axios news outlet.

The U.S. military later said it conducted its 13th consecutive night of strikes against Iran in attacks aimed at degrading Iran's ability to threaten maritime traffic.

The standoff continues over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway between Iran and Oman, with Iran asserting its control and the U.S. imposing a blockade on Iranian ports. The conflict on Thursday pushed global benchmark oil prices to over $100 per barrel, their highest level since May. The price eased below $98 a barrel in Friday morning trading. The national average price for regular gasoline in the U.S. also continued to climb to $4.10 per gallon — up by more than 17 cents from a month ago, according to AAA.

Iranian state media reported explosions overnight, including along the Strait of Hormuz in Qeshm and Bandar Abbas.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres told the U.N. Security Council that the Middle East was "teetering on the edge of [the] unimaginable."

"The situation is getting out of control," Guterres said. "The region is being pulled into an ever-widening circle of confrontation. One crisis feeds another. One escalation triggers the next."

The collapse of the ceasefire has brought Yemen's Houthi rebels, a key Iranian ally, further into the conflict. The Houthis this week attacked Saudi tankers in the Red Sea near Bab el-Mandeb. The Houthis control that waterway, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and is vital to global container traffic moving through the Suez Canal.

Trump threatened "major military punishment" against the Houthis if the attacks continue. Saudi Arabia backs an internationally recognized Yemeni government that controls the north of Yemen. The Houthis blame Saudi Arabia for an attack on the airport in the Yemeni capital last week.

In the Kurdistan region of Iraq, security forces shot down explosive-laden drones near the regional capital Irbil's international airport. The airport director said it had closed temporarily but was operating normally again later Friday morning.

Smoke rises after explosions were heard and air defenses activated near the airport in Irbil, in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq, on Friday. Several blasts sounded near the Irbil airport, which hosts U.S.-led coalition troops, an AFP journalist said.

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AFP via Getty Images

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Iran did not issue claims of responsibility for the strikes in the Iraqi Kurdish region where the U.S. has a military presence. Armed Kurdish-Iranian opposition bases in the Kurdish region have been a frequent target of Iranian and Iranian-backed attacks.

Newly appointed Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said after a visit Thursday to Iran he had promised not to allow attacks on Iran from Iraqi soil. Zaidi met President Trump this week in Washington, where he promised to intensify efforts to rein in Iran-backed Iraqi militias that have attacked U.S. forces.

In response to the increased tension, the United Kingdom announced it was temporarily withdrawing diplomatic staff from Iran. Some airlines began canceling flights to the region. Qatar Airways, a major regional carrier, announced it would suspend flights to Bahrain, Kuwait and Irbil until the end of July.
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