US launches new strikes on Iran over shipping routes threat

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has strongly condemned attacks by Yemen’s Houthi militia on Saudi ships in the Red Sea.

He called for an immediate end to the attacks and described any form of naval blockade as “unacceptable.”

“These reckless attacks endanger freedom of navigation and threaten to further undermine regional stability,” Merz said in a statement on Thursday.

Merz expressed Berlin’s solidarity with Saudi Arabia and its other partners in the region.

US President Donald Trump said Iran would be held responsible for the financial cost of any damage to ships or cargo amid the dispute over the Strait of Hormuz.

He said he would use seized Iranian assets to pay for any damage to shipping.

“From this point forth, any and all damages done to Ships, Cargo, or anything related thereto, will be paid for by Iranian Money that the United States has in its possession, and controls,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

“These damages may be very substantial but, nevertheless, this is the fair and equitable thing to do,” Trump added.

Trump’s statement comes after Iran-backed Houthis said they attacked two Saudi Arabian oil tankers in the Red Sea.

In response, Iran warned that Trump’s threat to use seized Iranian assets would set a dangerous precedent.

“Seizing another nation’s assets to pay for unrelated future claims is an incendiary precedent,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X.

The US has said it launched strikes on Iran for the 13th consecutive night, as Iranian state media reported explosions across the country.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said that it targeted Iran’s military command centers, drone storage facilities, communication networks, coastal surveillance sites, and maritime capabilities.

CENTCOM said the strikes were launched “to hold Iran accountable and diminish threats from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to commercial shipping” in the Strait of Hormuz.

Tensions between Iran and the US have escalated over shipping routes since a ceasefire collapsed earlier this month.

CENTCOM also said that it had redirected 12 commercial vessels and disabled one to prevent ships from entering or leaving Iranian ports or coastal areas since “resuming the naval blockade against Iran nine days ago.”

The latest US attacks come after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they targeted two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea.

President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened “major military punishment” against the Houthis if their attacks on ships continue.

The US has struck Iran for the 13th night in a row on Friday, after Tehran targeted US sites in Kuwait the previous night.

On Thursday, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed that they targeted two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, escalating tensions around one of the world’s key energy shipping routes.

Following the attack by Houthis, Trump threatened Iran and the Houthis with “major military punishment.”

Meanwhile, the US has signed a major nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia, alongside a separate bilateral safeguards pact.

Stay tuned as we bring you the latest on the US conflict with Iran and other developments from the conflict in the Middle East.