Iranian officials have reportedly asked Yemen's Houthi rebels to close the Bab el-Mandeb strait if the United States hits an Iranian power plant, Reuters reported on July 16. Meanwhile, the United States continued to expand the geographic scope of strikes against Iran on July 16, targeting areas around Tehran, and Iran's retaliation included attacks on Kuwait and Jordan.

In addition to the Houthi threat, a spokesperson for Iran's military headquarters said Iran would retaliate against regional infrastructure if the United States carried out President Donald Trump's threat to strike Iranian civilian and energy infrastructure. Separately, Iran released imprisoned dual-U.S. citizen Dena Karari, in what Trump called a gesture of "goodwill."