{"id":218100,"date":"2026-07-24T14:56:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T14:56:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/u-s-launches-new-strikes-and-trump-threatens-massive-attack-as-iran-widens-war-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T14:56:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T14:56:08","slug":"u-s-launches-new-strikes-and-trump-threatens-massive-attack-as-iran-widens-war-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/u-s-launches-new-strikes-and-trump-threatens-massive-attack-as-iran-widens-war-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. launches new strikes and Trump threatens \u2018massive attack\u2019 as Iran widens war – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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JERUSALEM \u2014 The United States <\/a>launched a fresh barrage of strikes on Iran<\/a> overnight after Tehran opened a second front in its pressure campaign on the world economy.
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President Donald Trump <\/a>threatened a major new escalation and on Thursday told <\/a>Axios <\/a>he is weighing whether to launch a \u201cmassive attack\u201d on the Islamic Republic that would be \u201cbigger than ever before.\u201d <\/strong>The president\u2019s warning and subsequent 13th night of military strikes came as oil briefly surged above $100 a barrel.
Iran has shown little sign of bowing to U.S. demands, launching new attacks on shipping as well as U.S. bases and allies across the Middle East. These two fronts have combined to increase the cost of the renewed conflict \u2014 in human lives, including American soldiers, and global prices.
The struggle for control of the crucial Strait of Hormuz<\/a> has now been extended to another key trade route, the Bab el Mandeb strait, after attacks by Tehran-backed Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.
And there were signs that some U.S. partners in the region may be losing patience. Senior Arab officials told NBC News they were growing frustrated with the threats, the daily escalations and the lack of diplomatic progress.
\u201cWe have no clue where this is going,\u201d said one senior Arab official, with direct knowledge of regional developments. \u201cIt\u2019s only getting crazier,\u201d said another senior Arab official, directly involved with diplomatic efforts.
Trump said Thursday there would be \u201cmajor military punishment\u201d for both Iran and the Houthis after the Yemen-based rebels struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, days after saying they were imposing a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia.
\u201cIf they do this again, the U.S. will hold Iran responsible, in that the Houthis are a Surrogate and\/or \u200bProxy of Iran,\u201d Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Thursday.
Later in the day he also said Washington would use Iranian assets held by the U.S. to pay for \u201cany damages to Ships, Cargo, or anything related thereto,\u201d sparking outcry from Tehran.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the threat an \u201cincendiary precedent.\u201d
\u201cThose who celebrate or profit from such funds should remember: once governments normalize confiscation, no one\u2019s assets are safe,\u201d Araghchi said in a post on X early Friday local time.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has ground to a near-standstill amid the continued Iranian attacks.
The sole vessel to cross fully through the strait Thursday was the New Giant oil tanker, heading for Rizhao in China.
The picture was less clear in the Red Sea, where some ships have turned around in the face of the Houthi threat but traffic did not seem to have slowed overall.
In the Bab el Mandeb strait Thursday, eight tankers traveled north through the chokepoint into the Red Sea, with 14 traveling south into the Gulf of Aden, according to an NBC News analysis of MarineTraffic data.
Some ships may have had their transmitters switched off, and so actual numbers may be higher.
With both blockades fueling fears over global energy supplies, the price of international benchmark Brent crude oil jumped above the $100 a barrel threshold Thursday for the first time since May before dropping back down. As of Friday morning, it hovered around $97 a barrel.
And the two sides continued to exchange airstrikes.
U.S. Central Command said it had completed a 13th straight night of strikes against Iran at 9 p.m. ET Thursday.
CENTCOM said it targeted \u201cIranian military command centers, drone storage facilities, communication networks, coastal surveillance sites, and maritime capabilities to further diminish the threat Iran poses to civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.\u201d
Impacts were reported across Iran, with state-run news agency IRNA reporting that four people were killed and five injured in the area of Ahvaz.
Tehran launched new strikes, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claiming to have hit storage warehouses at a U.S. base in Kuwait, and a control tower of the U.S. 5th Fleet in Bahrain. Explosions were reported near a military base hosting U.S. forces in northern Iraq.
And as fears of further escalation grow, hopes the peace process may be revived have dimmed.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on Thursday paid his first official visit to Iran since assuming office in May, notable given Iraq\u2019s close ties to both Washington and Tehran.
Trump said Thursday that Iran did \u201cwant to negotiate\u201d but was not prepared to make a deal yet.
\u201cThey haven\u2019t received enough pain yet,\u201d he told Axios.
Richard Engel reported from Jerusalem, and Chantal Da Silva and Matthew Mulligan from London.<\/em>
NBC News Chief Foreign Correspondent
Chantal Da Silva reports on world news for NBC News Digital and is based in London.
Matthew Mulligan is a senior reporter\u00a0for the NBC News Social Newsgathering team based in London.
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

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