CAIRO: Pressing for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump intimidated over more strikes on Iran. Hours later on Saturday, Kuwait said it responded to a new round of drone attacks from Iran while a tanker was struck in the strategic waterway.
Meanwhile, Israel heavily struck the Gaza Strip after the Palestinian militant group Hamas agreed to disarm.
Responding to it, Iran's military made a scathing remark that the United States is escalating tensions in the Middle East on Saturday. It also cautioned the countries in the region not to cooperate with Washington during the ongoing crisis.
"The United States is rapidly moving down the path of escalating tensions in the region," said Ali Abdollahi, head of Iran's military central command.
"Any country serving as defensive shield for criminal and aggressive America will be engulfed by the flames of war," he said in a statement read on state television.
The remarks came after US President Donald Trump reiterated threats to hit Iran "very hard".
US media reported that he was considering renewed heavy attacks as soon as this weekend, including against energy infrastructure targets.
This week, Iran and the US resumed overnight exchanges of fire after a days-long lull in fighting, although there were no reported strikes overnight Friday to Saturday.
The Middle East war broke out on February 28 when the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, which has retaliated with missile and drone strikes across the region.
We just want to win
Speaking to reporters Friday during a meeting with members of his Cabinet at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland, Trump said “we just want to win” in Iran and signalled that he expected U.S. military action to continue for some time.
Later that day, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt expressed the U.S. administration’s frustration anew, charging that Tehran last month signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. on a truce but then quickly “broke it, shot at commercial ships, and killed American soldiers.”
“President Trump is not going to stand by and allow this terrorist behaviour to occur,” Leavitt said in a statement on Friday evening. “Iran will continue to pay until they come to the table in what President Trump deems a meaningful way.”
New attacks on Kuwait and on shipping
Kuwait’s military said Saturday that its forces were responding to drone attacks, which were part of Iran’s assaults on the country.
In a statement, Maj. Gen. Saud Abdulaziz Al-Otaibi, spokesman for Kuwait's Defence Ministry, said the drones hit “several vital facilities,” including a government structure in the country's north. He said there were no casualties.
The British Navy said Saturday that a tanker was struck and a separate explosion hit close to a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Oman. No casualties were reported in either incident, it said.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organisation said an unknown projectile hit the vessel on Friday 11 nautical miles northeast of Lima, Oman. The attack damaged the vessel’s engine room.
The group said that on Saturday a large splash and an explosion were reported close to another tanker while it was sailing 21 nautical miles northwest of Khasab city.
Iran has repeatedly attacked vessels attempting to transit through the Strait of Hormuz without its authorisation as part of its ongoing conflict with the U.S.
Israel strikes Gaza after Hamas says it will disarm
Intense Israeli strikes Friday night killed at least two people in central Gaza and injured dozens more, according to local health officials.
The strikes came after Hamas confirmed Friday that it will disarm in a potential breakthrough for ending the war in Gaza, though major obstacles remain. Israel has not officially commented on the Hamas deal, which is part of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire announced last October.
That agreement called for Hamas to disarm and hand over power to an independent Palestinian administration. Israel was to withdraw, and an International Stabilisation Force was to be deployed.
In a post on X Friday, Israeli far-right lawmaker Itamar Ben-Gvir called the deal “unacceptable” and said the killings in Gaza must continue. “Israel must win,” he said.
The strikes overnight in Gaza followed evacuation orders by Israel's military. Israel's military didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the strikes.