Iran attacked a commercial tanker in the Strait of Hormuz early Tuesday, forcing its crew to abandon the vessel and board a lifeboat, according to the United Kingdom's Maritime Trade Operations center. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed responsibility for that attack as well as two additional ship strikes in the waterway on Monday. The IRGC also said it targeted U.S. military sites including air defense systems and a radar installation in Bahrain and Kuwait, prompting air alert sirens in Bahrain and drawing intercept responses from Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan.

The Pentagon confirmed that nearly 100 U.S. service members have been injured over the past two weeks of escalating conflict, though spokesperson Sean Parnell said 96 percent had returned to duty after sustaining mostly minor concussions. Three U.S. soldiers were killed in action in Jordan and Iraq over the weekend, prompting President Trump to warn on social media that Iran would "pay for that killing many times over." The U.S. military said its 10th consecutive night of airstrikes targeted Iranian military command centers and missile and drone launch sites to degrade Tehran's ability to attack commercial shipping. Iranian media reported strikes on Bandar Abbas, Tabriz and Bushehr, which hosts Iran's only operational civilian nuclear power plant.

Diplomatic efforts to end the fighting continued Tuesday as Iran's Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni traveled to Islamabad for closed-door meetings with Pakistani Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and was expected to meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Pakistan played a central role in brokering a June memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran, but that interim ceasefire has collapsed as hostilities intensified over the past week. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday the United States remained open to negotiations with Iran but that any deal "has to be real."

The broader regional picture deteriorated further Monday when Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi movement announced an immediate maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea, citing the kingdom's decade-long blockade of Yemen. The Houthis said the Bab al-Mandeb strait, through which roughly 12 percent of global trade normally passes, would be closed to Saudi vessels. Saudi Arabia said it would take all necessary measures to protect its ships under international law, though the threat adds pressure on Riyadh's oil exports at a time when Hormuz shipping has largely stalled. Brent crude eased slightly to $88.87 a barrel in early Tuesday trading after reaching its highest level in more than a month in the previous session.