US says it will use frozen Iranian assets to fund damage to ships as strikes continue

US says it will use frozen Iranian assets to fund damage to ships as strikes continueImage source, ReutersImage caption, Vessels sighted in the Strait of Hormuz from Oman on 23 JulyByYolande Knell, Middle East correspondent and Ottilie MitchellPublished24 July 2026, 06:17 BSTUpdated 1 hour agoThe US military says it has launched strikes on Iran for the 13th consecutive night, with Iranian state media saying four people have been killed and five injured. It comes as US President Donald Trump said he would use Iranian assets held by the US to pay for "any damages to Ships, Cargo, or anything related thereto". Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi hit back at the threat that Trump called "fair and equitable", calling it an "incendiary precedent".The latest strikes follow Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthis' claim to have attacked two Saudi tankers in the Red Sea and growing concerns over increasing threats to global shipping caused oil prices to spike.Iranian state media have reported explosions in key military and commercial sites in the south of the country including the port city Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island.Trump had earlier promised "major military punishment" against Iran for attacks by the Houthis and Iran. The US military says it carried out strikes to degrade Iran's ability to threaten civilian shipping in regional waters. US Central Command (Centcom) said it had targeted "Iranian military command centers, drone storage facilities, communication networks, coastal surveillance sites and maritime capabilities".But as the US pushes to regain control over the Strait of Hormuz, there's growing concern over new threats to shipping in the Red Sea from the Iran-backed Houthis.That's helped push the price of crude oil back over $100 (GBP £52.31) a barrel - the highest level since May.Reuters news agency reported that only one tanker went through the Strait on Thursday 24 July, citing ship-tracking...