The US and Iran exchange tough signals that peace negotiations are still not progressing, and the situation in the Middle East continues to escalate, driving up oil prices

US President Trump said on Wednesday that Iran will pay a heavy price in the deaths of 4 US soldiers in the past week. He also posted a social media post warning that as long as the Iranian military fires on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, the US will bomb a bridge or power plant at any time, including the Tehran area.

At the same time, Iran also unleashed a tough response. Iran's Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni recently visited Pakistan. Pakistan and Qatar have been important mediators in the US-Iran conflict over the past five months, but this visit showed no sign of the two sides restarting negotiations.

A spokesman for Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that there are currently no negotiations; only information transmission is possible. He said that Iran's new message to the US is that the other side has violated the Interim Peace Memorandum reached on June 17 and should fulfill the relevant commitments first.

According to reports, if the US attacks Iran's bridges or power generation facilities, Iran will respond by attacking the region's infrastructure, including energy facilities related to US interests.

In terms of military action, the United States has further expanded the scope of air strikes. Iranian media reported that the US military attacked a military facility near Tabriz in northwestern Iran at night. This is the first time the region has been attacked in two weeks since the conflict between the two sides escalated.

Furthermore, Iran's capital Tehran launched an air defense system in the early hours of Wednesday morning. According to local media, the US military also attacked Abdanan and Chovar in the western region near the Iraqi border.

This is the 11th day in a row that the US has carried out military attacks on Iran. In response, Iran once again attacked US military bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan.

The escalating conflict is also further impacting the global energy market. International oil prices have risen markedly in the past two weeks. London Brent crude oil futures rose 2.9% on Wednesday, approaching 94 US dollars per barrel. Prices of refined oil products such as diesel have also continued to rise in Europe.

The bond market has also been affected. Due to market concerns that rising energy prices may re-boost inflation, US 10-year and 30-year Treasury yields have risen to a high level of about two months. Investors are worried that the Federal Reserve may reconsider raising interest rates as a result.

The US side said that until Iran reopens the Strait of Hormuz and stops attacking energy carriers and other merchant ships, the US military will continue to step up air strikes.

However, Iran showed no sign of making concessions. Tehran insisted on continuing to control shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, and said that the issue also hindered the progress of negotiations on other contentious issues, including Iran's nuclear program.

Meanwhile, the Yemeni Houthis, backed by Iran, also threatened to expand the scope of the conflict, warning that merchant ships bound for Saudi ports could be targeted. The Global Maritime Safety Monitoring Agency and the Maritime Information Center said that the Houthis now have the ability to launch maritime attacks from near the Mander Strait at the southern tip of Red.

Trump said that the US military action has seriously weakened Iran's military strength, yet Iran continues to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz, causing heavy losses to the US military and military bases in the Middle East.

The US Department of Defense said on Tuesday that a 28-year-old US Army sergeant who had previously disappeared was confirmed to have died in the attack on the Jordanian air base last Friday, bringing the death toll of the US military to 4 in the past week. Two others also died in action in Jordan, and the other died in the attack in northern Iraq.

Trump went to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Wednesday to welcome the bodies of some of the dead soldiers back home.

Iran, on the other hand, said that the 11 days of continuous US air strikes have killed more than 50 people and injured more than 500 people.

Trump also said that Iran “probably” is trying to influence the US midterm elections in November by attacking the Strait of Hormuz because related actions have already pushed up gasoline prices in the US. At the same time, he hinted that the US military might attack the Pickaxe Mountain (Pickaxe Mountain) facility that the US and Israel believe is related to Iran's nuclear program in the future.

In response, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said that the claims surrounding Mount Haoshan were only “excuses created to launch an invasion.” The Iranian military also warned that if the US military sets foot on Iranian territory, it will be fully counterattacked by the Iranian people.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told the Senate on Tuesday that up to now, this round of military operations has cost about 37.5 billion US dollars. On the same day, he also called on the National Assembly to approve a supplementary defense budget totaling 67 billion US dollars to support subsequent military operations.