More US strikes on Iran in its push to reopen Strait of Hormuz

The US military conducts its 12th night of strikes against Iran.

This, as US President Donald Trump says Iran will soon be ready to make a peace deal.

But Tehran says if Iran's security is not ensured, the Strait of Hormuz will not be safe.

US Central Command says the attacks were designed to "further degrade Iran's ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters."

The strikes come after US President Donald Trump threatens to destroy Iran's bridges and power plants if Iran attacks any ship in the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump says that from this point forward, any time Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by missile, rocket, drone, or any other device or weapon, the US will bomb and destroy one bridge or power plant, including those located next to, or in Tehran.

Speaking in Marietta, Georgia shortly after attending the dignified transfer of four US service members killed in action in the Middle East, Trump says Iran will soon be ready to make a peace deal.

DONALD TRUMP: "This is with this skirmish we have with the Islamic Republic of Iran. And I call that because let me tell you, they're getting hit so hard. And they want to make a deal. But I say they're not ready to make a deal. Because every time they make a deal, they want to change it and everything. They're not ready. They'll be ready very soon."

Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who has led negotiations with the US, responds to Trump.

He says "if Iran's security is not ensured, no infrastructure will be safe, and the situation of the strait will not return to prewar conditions."

Meanwhile, Yemen's Houthi rebels claim to have targeted two Saudi oil tankers at the southern end of the Red Sea, following through on a threat with the potential to widen the Iran war.

Military spokesperson Yahya Saree says the two vessels had violated a blockade decision issued by the Houthis earlier this week.

The rebels say they have closed the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Saudi-linked shipping in retaliation for the kingdom's blockade on Yemen and a recent attack on the international airport in Yemen's rebel-held capital, Sanaa.

Bab el-Mandeb, at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, is a vital shipping chokepoint, connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.