When sirens sounded repeatedly over Bahrain's capital Manama this week, the war between the United States and Iran had already stopped feeling like a bilateral conflict. Jordan and Kuwait reported interceptions of Iranian drones and missiles on the same day, while Kuwait's government confirmed that power stations and water desalination plants had been struck over several days — forcing residents to ration electricity and drinking water. The Middle East, it was becoming clear, had entered a new and more dangerous phase. Speaking at the White House, President Donald Trump made no attempt to suggest that American military action was drawing to a close.

"If we left right now," he said, "it would take Iran 20, 25 years to rebuild. We're not finished at all — we're not leaving right now." Iran's Revolutionary Guards appeared equally resolved, confirming a strike on a site in Jordan's Rukban region that they described as housing US forces, and warning that "even more decisive and powerful waves of drone and missile attacks" were to follow. Tehran's army also claimed responsibility for hitting air defence systems, radar installations and administrative buildings in Kuwait and Bahrain.

The conflict's gravitational pull was felt as far as the Red Sea. Yemen's Houthi movement, which is backed by Iran, threatened on Monday to blockade Saudi ports — a warning that maritime intelligence firm Vanguard Tech said had already prompted at least two tankers, one Singapore-flagged and one Liberia-flagged, to reverse course after loading crude oil at Saudi terminals. Trump pledged to "take care of" the Houthis should the threat be carried out, invoking previous US strikes against the group.