Middle East Crisis Deepens as US-Iran Conflict Escalates

The ongoing conflict between the US and Iran has escalated into a wider crisis in the Middle East, with new attacks reported across shipping lanes, oil sites, and allied states.

The latest fighting centers around the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway that carries a fifth of the world's traded oil and gas. Iran says it controls the strait and has attacked ships using an alternative route overseen by the US military along the coast of Oman.

The US has struck back at Iran, saying the strait should be open to international traffic as it was before the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. When the US strikes Iran, Tehran responds with missiles and drones targeting Arab countries hosting US forces, including Jordan and Kuwait.

In Yemen, Iran-backed Houthis have declared a blockade on Saudi Arabia and threatened shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb strait and the Red Sea route leading to Egypt's Suez Canal. The Houthi-Saudi tensions stem from a separate but related conflict that has been ongoing for over a decade.