US renews strikes on Iran as widening war pulls in more countries

“We’re $37 billion into this,” Rep. Kevin Mullin (D-CA) told CNN’s Elex Michaelson about the financial involvement of the United States in the war with Iran.

President Donald Trump’s “domestic politics are eroding even as we speak,” Mullin said, referencing rising gas and household prices, and American opposition to the war.

Mullin said a priority must be to “end this war,” but expressed concern about the US ending up in a worse position that before it started, one in which there may be no deal and the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.

“This president may wind up with something much weaker” than former President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran, he said.

Smoke rises following explosion at an unknown location, during what U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) says are strikes on Iran, in this screengrab taken from a handout video released on July 29, 2026.

The US war in Iran is in desperate need of new thinking.

Despite new US strikes Wednesday following President Donald Trump’s f-bomb warning that Iran is due another “beating,” he has yet to show he can blast Tehran back to talks.

But diplomacy that he hailed as bringing historic peace to the Middle East also failed when a vaguely worded memorandum of understanding collapsed.

And his options for changing the equation — risking the lives of hundreds of US troops in a ground war or recognizing Tehran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz — are so unpalatable that the phrase “no good options” has become a cliche.

Endgame in the strait: As with many conflict situations, the eventual framework needed to quell fighting and open the way for talks on the most fundamental issues, like Iran’s nuclear program, is possible to visualize.

Here, it might involve a compromise wherein the United States could avoid admitting it suffered a strategic defeat through Iran’s effective control of the strait, and Iran could argue it preserved its main takeaway from a war that ravaged its leaders and military.

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The United Arab Emirates reiterated its support for Saudi Arabia and said it backed “all measures aimed at safeguarding its security,” after the kingdom carried out its first strikes on Iran-backed militias in Iraq alongside US forces.

“The Ministry reiterated the UAE’s full solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its support for all measures aimed at safeguarding its security and stability,” the UAE’s foreign affairs ministry said in a statement.

Saudi Arabia is getting pulled further into the Middle East conflict, conducting joint strikes with the US against Iraq this week – despite the kingdom having spent months trying to avoid deeper involvement.

What happened: Washington and Riyadh launched strikes on “logistics and weapons site” in multiple regions of Iraq on Wednesday local time, following attacks by Iran-backed armed groups on US forces and Saudi oil facilities.

At least 20 people were killed and 32 others injured, according to the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), the umbrella group for Iran-aligned Iraqi militias that were targeted in the strikes.

Iraq and Iran’s response: Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned the attacks, according to Iranian state media. Iraq’s recently elected President Nizar Amidi called the attacks “unacceptable and a flagrant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty.”

Why Saudi Arabia got involved: In the last week, the kingdom has faced enemies from three directions: missile attacks from the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, drone attacks from pro-Iranian militias in Iraq and renewed threats from Tehran.

On top of attacks to Saudi oil infrastructure, the Houthis also announced a blockade of Saudi shipping through a chokepoint in the Red Sea. This is a major escalation for the kingdom, which had re-routed much of its oil exports through Red Sea ports as the Strait of Hormuz remains paralyzed.

Throughout the war between Iran, the US and Israel, the Saudi kingdom had kept open channels of communication with Tehran. But it may be losing patience as it fends off attacks from Iranian-backed proxies, while its economy suffers from the war.

Officials meet: Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman met with Vice President JD Vance in Washington, DC, on Wednesday. They discussed the joint strikes, Saudi Arabia’s response to attacks on its infrastructure, and the kingdom’s view on the ongoing war, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The minister also met with President Donald Trump, a source familiar told CNN.

Jordan’s military intercepted five missiles from Iran early Thursday local time, state media reported.

There were no casualties following the interception, according to the report from the Petra News Agency.

Explosions were heard across southern Iran early Thursday as the US renewed its strikes on the country, the first to directly target Iran for several days.

The fresh strikes were in retaliation for Iran’s attacks on US forces in the region on Tuesday.

Blasts were heard in the port city of Bandar Abbas, located near the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported.

Qeshm, an island that sits in the strait, was also targeted, according to Iranian state media. Several residents are injured and reported trapped after a missile struck a home, IRIB reported, citing local officials.

Further along the coast, the Persian Gulf island Kish was also hit, according to state-run IRNA.

And in Iran’s southwest corner bordering Iraq, multiple locations in Khuzestan Province reported explosions, state media reported.

Explosions were heard in several locations in southern Iran early on Thursday local time, as the US military renewed its strikes against the country.

The strikes were the first to directly target Iran in days and followed a warning from President Donald Trump, who vowed to forcefully respond to Iran’s attempted missile attack on Tuesday on US forces in the Middle East, telling reporters that “it’s our turn to hit them.”

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CNN’s Christian Sierra, Kevin Liptak, Aqeel Najim, Nechirvan Mando, Mohammed Tawfeeq and Avery Schmitz contributed reporting.

Four members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp were killed in US-Saudi airstrikes in Iraq on Wednesday, according to a provincial Iranian official.

Hasan Ghamari, deputy governor of Markazi province for political, security and social affairs, told Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency that the four were providing security for Arbaeen pilgrimage ceremonies when they were killed in Diyala province in eastern Iraq.

Arbaeen marks the end of a 40-day mourning period commemorating the seventh-century death of Imam Hussein, grandson of Islam’s Prophet Mohammed.

Ghamari released the names of the four people he identified as IRGC members.

Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) media office spokesman Kareem al-Kinani told CNN on Wednesday that six Iranian pilgrims were killed in the strikes.

At least 20 people were killed and 32 others injured by the US-Saudi strikes early Wednesday local time, according to the PMF, an umbrella group of Iranian-aligned militias.

CNN has reached out to the Iraqi government for comment.

Vessel traffic through two critical shipping chokepoints remains heavily depressed amid US-Iran tensions and threats to trade in the region.

MarineTraffic data on Wednesday showed at least 14 commercial ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz over 24 hours. Eight vessels moved into the Persian Gulf — five cargo ships and three tankers — while six departed into the Gulf of Oman, made up of five cargo ships and one tanker.

Before the war, vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz averaged about 120 crossings per day.

Farther west, at least 37 commercial vessels transited the Bab al-Mandeb Strait over the same 24-hour period. Nineteen ships entered the Red Sea — including 14 cargo ships and five tankers — while 18 exited into the Gulf of Aden, consisting of 13 cargo ships and five tankers.

The shipping industry is exploring new routes for moving oil out of the region after Iran-backed Houthi rebels began to apply pressure in the narrow channel separating Yemen from Djibouti.

Transits of the Bab al-Mandeb have fallen by 22% since then. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains at historically low levels.