US Launches Sixth Night of Strikes as Iran Signals Possible Red Sea Escalation

The United States carried out its sixth consecutive night of airstrikes against Iran, aiming to further weaken Iranian military capabilities, as tensions in the region continued escalating on multiple fronts.

Fresh Strikes and Iranian Retaliation

The US military confirmed the new wave of attacks in a statement posted online, describing the goal as degrading Iran’s remaining military capabilities. Iranian state television reported that the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, home to naval and Revolutionary Guards facilities along the Strait of Hormuz, was hit by American strikes.

Earlier in the day, Iran had launched missiles and drones targeting US military bases in neighboring countries, including a recently expanded air base in Jordan. Kuwait’s defense ministry said its forces intercepted 32 hostile drones in its airspace, adding that Iranian attacks caused damage to several important facilities. While shrapnel fell in some residential areas, no casualties were reported.

Iran’s Red Sea Warning

According to sources, Iran has asked Yemen’s Houthi movement to be ready to shut down the Red Sea oil shipping route if the US strikes Iranian power infrastructure directly, raising the stakes of an already tense conflict with potential consequences for global energy markets.

Confusion Over Reported Prisoner Release

President Trump described the release of a US citizen detained in Iran as a gesture of goodwill, with human rights lawyer Jared Genser identifying her as Dena Karari. However, Iran’s judiciary disputed the claim, stating that no American prisoner had been released or exchanged from its custody, and that no one matching Trump’s description had been freed.

According to reporting from The New York Times citing Genser, Karari was never formally imprisoned but had been interrogated multiple times by Iranian authorities. She had reportedly been charged with espionage and barred from leaving the country before her lawyer said she was now safe and traveling back to the United States.