U.S.-Iran Clash Escalates, Raising Fears of Renewed Conflict in the Middle East

[Financial News] As the United States and Iran continue their tit-for-tat confrontation over the Strait of Hormuz, tensions are once again rising in the Middle East. The United States is bringing fighter jets into the region, while Iran has warned of a "full-scale offensive," deepening the conflict between the two sides.
According to foreign media reports on the 18th, CENTCOM said on X that it had "launched airstrikes against Iran for the seventh day at 3 p.m. Eastern Time."
Shortly after the announcement, Iran's state-run news agency reported loud explosions in Sirik, a port city near the Strait of Hormuz and home to an Iranian naval base, as well as in Ahvaz in the southwest and Yazd in central Iran.
Since resuming strikes on Iran on the 11th, the U.S. military has targeted military facilities and surveillance sites near the Strait of Hormuz. It is now broadening its targets to civilian infrastructure such as railways, bridges and airports.
The United States is also preparing to redeploy military assets to the Middle East. According to foreign media reports, the U.S. military has informed Israeli air bases of plans to increase aerial refueling tankers. It is currently deploying 30 tankers at Ben-Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv and a similar number at Ramon Airport in the south. In addition, it plans to send dozens more aerial refueling tankers. These aircraft are considered key assets for long-range strike operations because they can greatly extend fighter jet range and time on station. The U.S. military currently has 2,000 troops from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit stationed in waters near Iran.
In response, Mohsen Rezaei, a military adviser to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Sayyid Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei, said on state television that if the U.S. attacks continue for a certain period, Iran will "enter a phase of full-scale offensive and destructive operations." Iran has also widened the scope of possible strikes to U.S. facilities in Gulf states.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed that it had destroyed a major artificial intelligence center after attacking a U.S. drone base in Bahrain. It said the site was being used for "U.S. war crimes."
Meanwhile, as the U.S. has resumed its blockade of Iranian ports, civilian vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz are continuing to suffer damage. According to foreign media reports, two tankers exploded in the strait, triggering a large fire. As of the 17th, only six ships had passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the previous 24 hours.

kjh0109@fnnews.com Kwon Jun-ho Reporter