Trump Weighs Expanding Iran Military Campaign as U.S. Launches Fresh Strikes Over Hormuz Threats

President Donald Trump is expected to decide within the coming days whether to broaden the ongoing U.S. military campaign against Iran, amid rising tensions across the Middle East.

According to the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), American forces completed a ninth consecutive wave of strikes against military targets in Iran on Sunday night. The strikes were aimed at degrading Iranian capabilities that U.S. officials say threaten international shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical maritime trade routes.

Trump also paid tribute to the American service members killed in recent Iran-linked attacks, saying the latest strikes were carried out “in honor” of the fallen troops.

CENTCOM said two U.S. service members were killed in Jordan last week in an Iran-linked attack, while a third American troop was killed in Iraq on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, accused Washington of undermining efforts to reduce tensions, arguing that recent U.S. military deployments demonstrate the United States is not serious about diplomacy.

The regional situation has grown even more complex after Yemen’s Houthi movement announced a maritime ban on Saudi Arabia, describing it as retaliation for what it called the kingdom’s blockade of Yemen and a recent strike on Sanaa International Airport.

Separately, security officials reported that an explosive-laden drone was intercepted near Al-Harir Air Base in Iraq’s Kurdistan region.

Iran’s U.N. Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani also called on U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres and the U.N. Security Council to condemn what he described as a U.S. strike on the Darkhovin nuclear power plant.

The developments have further heightened concerns over the possibility of a wider military confrontation in the Middle East.