Iran lashed out at recent U.S. airstrikes by launching drone and missile attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait Sunday, while warning it would completely suspend negotiations to end the Middle East war if Washington carried out further attacks.
Efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz without Iran's direct oversight sparked the crossfire now gripping the region and have imperiled negotiations for a lasting cease-fire.
A multinational maritime body overseen by the U.S. Navy said Saturday that it would expand a route near Oman for both inbound and outbound traffic, setting up a new flashpoint with Tehran.
The global community has long considered the strait an international passageway, despite its being situated in Iran and Oman's territorial waters.
In recent days, Iran has twice attacked vessels going through a route on the Omani side of the strait backed by a United Nations agency.
