U.S. carries out 12th straight night of strikes as threats to oil trade deepen

Iran's army says it "launched heavy strikes" with drones at three U.S. bases in Kuwait Thursday.

Tehran's said it aimed for ammuition depots and logistics storage facilities at Camp Doha, fuel storage tanks at Ali Al Salem Air Base and an ammunition depot at Camp Arifjan.

Earlier, Kuwait's army said it was working to intercept Iranian drones.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had a message for the people of Kuwait. "It is the United States that has violated your territorial integrity and sovereignty, not us," the corps said. "We are striking territory occupied by the U.S. military, an army that knows nothing but committing crimes."

A vessel belonging to a Saudi company was hit while transiting the Red Sea, Saudi state media reported Thursday citing an official source, after Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed it struck tankers in the waterway.

The source, quoted by state-run Saudi Press Agency, said "the vessel ENCELIA, belonging to a Saudi company, was targeted while sailing in the Red Sea, resulting in a fire at the bow of the ship," but it said all crew members were safe.

The Houthis had threatened to blockade Saudi ports on the Red Sea -- a key route for oil shipments -- while the five-month war had already led to the effective closure of the vital Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. forces completed a 12th straight night of strikes against Iran at around 10:30 p.m. ET, U.S. Central Command said.

The targets included "maritime capabilities, missile and drone storage facilities, coastal surveillance sites, and air defense assets," CENTCOM said. "The strikes further degrade Iran's ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial vessels."

CENTCOM said that, since resuming its blockade of Iranian ports, it has redirected nine commercial vessels and disabled another.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard said Thursday morning local time that it stopped three oil tankers from passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

In recent weeks, Iran has hit tankers using a route hugging the Omani coast to traverse the strait, in a bid to strongarm vessels into using its own waters and pay for safe passage.

"Three oil tankers, provoked and tempted by the child-killing American army, were trying to pass through the mine-laid route south of the Strait of Hormuz, but after one of them exploded and caught fire, the other two quickly turned around and turned back," the Guard said in a statement quoted by Iranian state media.

"The powerful IRGC Navy emphasizes that the Strait of Hormuz is under our control... and any ship that is deceived by the US and intends to pass without coordina