US expands strikes to northern Iran and disables ship trying to breach blockade

Women sit beneath a portrait of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (Vahid Salemi/AP)

The US intensified its strikes on Iran early on Thursday, hitting targets further north as American forces also fired into a ship the US accused of trying to break its naval blockade on the Islamic Republic.

Iran retaliated with missile and drone fire targeting US allies in the region before dawn and warned its attacks may escalate.