US strikes expand into northern Iran as it disables ship trying to run blockade

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United States intensified its strikes targeting Iran early Thursday, hitting targets further north as American forces also fired into a ship it accused of trying to break its naval blockade on the Islamic Republic.

Iran retaliated with missile and drone fire targeting Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait before dawn.

Days of back-and-forth strikes by the U.S. and Iran across the Middle East — and renewed threats to the Strait of Hormuz — have shredded the interim deal to end the Iran war and could tip the region back into all-out war.

Already, Iranian officials say U.S. strikes have killed more than 35 people and wounded over 300 others.

Strikes also reached into areas around Iran’s capital, Tehran, for the first time of this latest round of violence.

When the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Iran on Feb. 28, Tehran effectively closed the strait to shipping traffic, a move that sent the price of oil, fertilizer and many other goods soaring far beyond the region and gave Iran major leverage in negotiations.

An adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, Al