WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump minimized the prospect of immediate talks with Iran as the two sides exchanged strikes and Houthi militants in Yemen threatened shipping in the Red Sea.

Trump vowed on Tuesday to respond if the Iran-backed group disrupted that waterway, but didn’t specify how.

His comments came after the 10th day of U.S. and Iranian attacks and as mediators continued efforts to restart negotiations. Oil prices ticked higher amid the threats to key routes for global energy supplies.

“They want to desperately meet and until they’re ready to meet in a meaningful way we have no interest,” Trump said at a White House meeting with Lebanon’s president, vowing to continue the fight.

Tehran has dismissed U.S. claims that it’s seeking more talks. Mediators are working to revive a June 17 interim peace agreement. Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni was in Pakistan Tuesday but there was no immediate word of progress.

Oil prices have surged by about 20% in July after hostilities resumed in the nearly five-month war, which began when the U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran at the end of February. Brent crude traded slightly higher on Tuesday at around $90 a barrel.

U.S. Central Command said it targeted Iranian military command centers, launch sites and air defenses overnight, and Iran attacked facilities in Kuwait and Jordan, with Kuwait saying power and desalination plants were among those hit. The U.K. navy reported strikes on two vessels around the Strait of Hormuz. Commercial traffic through the waterway was the lowest in three weeks.

The Iran-backed Houthis on Monday said they would impose a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia, putting at risk the flow of millions of barrels that the kingdom exports via the Red Sea. A message from the Yemen-based group to shipowners warned all vessels against calling at Saudi ports, according to an email seen by Bloomberg, shedding light on the scope of a threat.

Asked about the threat of Houthi attacks on shipping, Trump said, “If something like that happens, we take care of it,” without elaborating.

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said it is taking steps to protect ships in the area while the Saudi Foreign Ministry said the kingdom would take all necessary measures to protect vessels in accordance with international law.

U.S. retail gasoline prices have climbed back over $4 a gallon, potentially hurting Trump and his Republican Party before midterm elections in November.

Trump said Tuesday in response to a question that Iran “probably” is trying to influence the vote with its attacks in the strait. He also signaled more military action is likely.

“If we left tomorrow, we had a big, we had a big success,” Trump said. “But we’re not leaving tomorrow.” He also reiterated threats to strike soon at Pickaxe Mountain, an Iranian facility the U.S. and Israel have said they suspect is a nuclear site.

Pakistan and Qatar, the main intermediaries in the conflict, see a return to U.S.-Iran positions before July 9 as a first step in easing hostilities, according to the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency. The latest round of fighting over control of the Strait of Hormuz began that day.

Asked about a Reuters report that mediators proposed a 10-day ceasefire, a U.S. official said Trump is currently focused on punishing Iran for attacking ships in the strait. The strikes will continue until the president chooses a different course of action, the official said, but diplomatic efforts to end the war were continuing.

Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, said his country wouldn’t abandon diplomacy but also won’t be forced back to the negotiating table while under military attack.

“Iran’s actions in the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf had global consequences and we became a global player,” he said in an interview published on his Telegram channel, underscoring how Tehran sees control of the strait as a source of leverage over the U.S. and as vital to its security.

Tehran, insisting it has a right to manage traffic through Hormuz, has attacked U.S. bases across Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain and Iraq. The Kaifan, an oil products tanker owned by Kuwait Oil Tanker Co., became the latest major vessel to be attacked in the strait as the outbreak in fighting empties the waterway.

The U.S. military has announced the death of three service members in northern Iraq and Jordan since Friday, with another service member still missing.

Iran says U.S. attacks have struck bridges, killed more than 50 people and wounded more than 500 since the most recent flare-up began.

Trump warned Iran last week he’d escalate airstrikes and widen the scope of targets until it backed down.

—With assistance from Raeedah Wahid, Tom Fevrier and Vivien Ngo.

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