Tehran warns of deadlier retaliation as Yemen tensions add to regional turmoil

Tensions in the Middle East are spiraling to new heights, with the United States reportedly weighing major resumed combat operations and potential troop deployments to Iran following November's midterm elections.

Iran, meanwhile, has vowed to deliver far more lethal retaliation against any new confrontation, as the conflict spills over into Yemen with fighting between government forces and the Houthis.

US media outlet Axios reported on Friday that senior White House officials held a secret security meeting at Camp David, Maryland, to map out follow-up strategies for the Iran war.

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"Things were decided or at least deeply discussed," an official revealed regarding the escalating Middle East crisis. The White House declined to comment.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Trump said Iran has been "decimated" amid the prolonged conflict, while keeping silent on specific military plans.

"We have a decision that I'll make about Iran. Iran's been decimated. So the only question is, it'll either be the easy way or the hard way," he said.

A day earlier, when pressed about his upcoming strategy, Trump hinted at undisclosed military moves, saying revealing the details would trigger major headlines.

"If I told you, you'd have a major story, right? But you'll see. Working out very well. Iran is not doing well," he said.

Iran has enforced a shipping blockade across the Strait of Hormuz since late February, when US-Israeli strikes ignited the current conflict, while US forces have maintained a counter-blockade targeting Iranian ports.

Amid the deepening standoff, a third US aircraft carrier is already heading to the region, which would bring the total to three carriers and two amphibious groups around Iran by November.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has threatened to unleash a far larger, more lethal response than its 2024 Operation True Promise II against any US or regional military provocation, Iran's Mehr News Agency reported.

The Fars News Agency reported on Saturday that the IRGC navy had targeted at least seven violating oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz over the past five days. Two of the vessels exploded in the waterway, both of which had turned off their tracking systems prior to the incident.

Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday that Washington had made "some proposals through a mediator" after Tehran presented a seven-day road map to reopen the strait.

However, he insisted the US should know that the era of wasting time and dictating unilateral demands is over.

"The Strait of Hormuz will not open until our seven conditions based on the Islamabad Memorandum are met," he said.

Meanwhile, Yemen's government forces said on Sunday they had conducted 97 strikes against Houthi positions nationwide, further exacerbating the country's long-running conflict and broader regional instability.

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The Houthis claimed Saudi warplanes launched airstrikes on Sanaa late on Thursday, marking the first Saudi bombardment of the Yemeni capital since bilateral hostilities flared up in July.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said on Sunday that the group launched a ballistic missile and drone attack on Saudi energy giant Aramco's sites in capital Riyadh and the oil-rich Khurais area in the kingdom's east.

"Both operations successfully achieved their objectives," he said. "The strikes were precise, causing large fires at the targeted sites."

Sarea had said on Saturday that the militia targeted the Riyadh oil facility with ballistic missiles and drones.

Agencies and Xinhua contributed to this story.

Contact the writers at cuihaipei@chinadaily.com.cn