Hyderabad, April 8 -- West Asia lurched closer to all-out war on Tuesday, April 7, as Iran fired its seventh missile barrage of the day at Israel, the United States set an 8pm Eastern deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face military strikes and Russia and China vetoed a UN Security Council resolution aimed at keeping the crucial waterway open. 

Gulf states scrambled to protect their populations, with Kuwait imposing a midnight curfew and a key causeway between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain shutting down for the second time in the day.

Iran's UN envoy warned that Tehran would not "stand idle" in the face of what he called incitement to war crimes, as top House Democrats demanded Congress be recalled to prevent what the...