DUBAI: The United States conducted its ninth consecutive night of airstrikes against Iranian military targets early Monday following the death of a 17th American service member in Iraq.

The intensifying conflict has shattered a month-old interim peace deal, causing benchmark Brent crude to spike past $90 a barrel amidst an unfolding global energy crisis.

In response to the U.S. strikes—which targeted Iranian command centers, air defenses, and a nuclear plant construction site—Tehran retaliated by firing missiles and drones at U.S.-allied Arab states, including Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait.

While Jordan successfully intercepted incoming missiles, the strikes prompted neighboring Israel to activate air defenses near Eilat due to falling debris, threatening to pull the country further into the warfare.

Meanwhile, shipping traffic remains severely bottlenecked in the vital Strait of Hormuz after a tanker caught fire off Oman and the U.S. tightened a naval blockade on Iranian crude oil shipments.