NewsWorld newsMiddle East warAmerican President Donald Trump is expanding the war in Iran at huge cost and towards non-military targets which have little or no strategic purpose as he steers crisis towards all-out war14:38, 20 Jul 2026Updated 14:44, 20 Jul 2026The American military has carried out its ninth nightly attack on Iran in a row as the US broadens its targeting to civilian infrastructure amid claims it is “running out of targets.”‌It is feared the US campaign on Iran is now steaming towards all-out war with peace talks lying in tatters and growing concern Tehran is becoming more entrenched. Experts suggest the US campaign against Iran is forcing Tehran to adopt a more “horizontal” approach by spreading the war to attacks on Gulf State neighbours.‌And that has led to increasing concern Iran will deploys its proxies to target US facilities globally or pivot more towards its allies such as the UK or elsewhere in Europe.‌A western security source told the Daily Mirror : “The change in the US attacks shows that they may be running out of military targets and attacking civilian infrastructure which have no military applications. The US will try to present this as shaping the battlefield, however it seems a hollow boast. “Tactical attacks without an obvious strategy continue and are always a recipe for failure.‌“As Iranian military options degrade then it’s expected they will retaliate in more imaginative and asymmetric ways, using the Yemeni Houthis, cyber attacks , maybe attacking US interests outside the region. The latest US service deaths have not gone down well in the US, probably more worrying is that there is no real release of information about injuries.” It follows the deaths of three service personnel - two from Iranian attacks on their Jordanian base and a third who died whilst tackling an explosive device in Iraq.A fourth is still recorded as “missing” feared dead from an attack last week on the base in Jordan as the US is increasingly under pressure from its own rising death toll. US-based thinktank The Soufan Centre, run by respected former FBI man and Middle East expert Ali Soufan said in a report released today: “President Trump is increasing pressure on Iran to return to negotiations by expanding U.S. airstrikes to civilian infrastructure — particularly bridges that connect Iran’s Persian Gulf coastline to its major cities — but Iran’s continuing lethal missile barrages call U.S. strategy into question.Article continues below“In an effort to pressure the U.S. to accede to its demands to control the Strait of Hormuz, Iran is not only making maximum use of its missile technology, but it is also escalating horizontally, targeting Gulf state infrastructure and directing its non-state allies to join its attacks.” The Soufan report also confirmed fears , first revealed in the Mirror last week, that Iran will encourage proxies to close down the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. It continued: Iranian leaders have given the Houthis in Yemen a green light to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, another key energy chokepoint, to increase pressure on energy markets and the global economy.”As US strikes got underway early this morning and overnight a ship caught fire in the strait of Hormuz near the coastline of Oman, the British military said. It was unclear what sparked the blaze off Oman, in the southern corridor the US military has encouraged ships to use to avoid Iran’s control. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps later claimed two oil tankers were blown up after attempting to transit through the southern route of the strait.US President Donald Trump says “Iran was hit very hard,” as strikes were reported across Iran. But Iran has reacted forcibly against the attacks. Iranian foreign minister Esmail Baghaei said an attack by the US on a watchtower in the southeastern city of Chabahar were similar to the conduct of “terrorist groups like ISIS ”. He said US tactics were “completely incompatible with international law and the principles of civilised humanitarian conduct.”Choose Daily Mirror as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.‌Donald TrumpMiddle EastIranMiddle East warIran-Iraq War