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US launches fresh strikes on Iran as tankers hit in Hormuz strait
Welcome to our continuing live coverage of the crisis in the Middle East.
The US carried out a third consecutive night of strikes against Iran on Monday and two tankers came under fire in the strait of Hormuz after Donald Trump said Washington was reinstating its blockade of Iranian shipping in the Gulf and would ensure that the strategic waterway stayed open, but for a fee.
US Central Command said it began strikes at the president’s direction just after he said Iran would be hit “very hard tonight and we’re going to hit them hard tomorrow”, later saying the US was attacking Iranian capabilities in the strait.
Soon after, the United Arab Emirates said Iranian cruise missiles struck two Emirati oil tankers while transiting the southern lane of the vital energy transit route in Omani territorial waters, killing one crew member and injuring eight.
With the US-Iran memorandum of understanding in a shambles after fighting reignited between them last week, Trump claimed the strait was open and would stay open “with or without Iran”. The president also announced the US would start charging fees on ships transiting through the waterway, claiming a 20% fee would be levied “for any and all costs necessary” to provide security and safety for vessels.
Iran’s top joint military command said the US had no role in determining the strait’s future and would not be allowed to intervene. Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said on X that Tehran would “forever” be the guardian of the strait, adding over Trump’s comments: “20% is of course too much. We will be fair.”
In other developments:
Iranian media reported explosions in the port city of Bandar Abbas, Iran’s Kish and Qeshm islands and on Abu Musa Island in the Gulf soon after the US military announced renewed strikes on Iran.
The US military started preparing to resume blockading ships heading to and exiting Iranian ports from 4pm ET on Tuesday, US Central Command said, after Trump’s announcement.
Oil prices roes 2% to their highest in four weeks amid heightened uncertainty about energy flows through the strait of Hormuz. Brent crude futures climbed 2% to $84.98 a barrel by 0051 GMT on Tuesday, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.1% to $79.79. Brent crude surged 9.6% in the previous session – its biggest daily gain since May 2020.
The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) said passage through the strait of Hormuz “should remain free of any tolls and charges, in accordance with international law”.
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said its air defences dealt with ballistic missiles launched by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis towards the kingdom’s southern region, as tensions rose after Sana’a airport was attacked. The Houthis earlier said Saudi Arabia had launched strikes on the airport in the Yemeni capital. The Saudi-backed Yemeni government claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it wanted to prevent an Iranian plane from landing. The Houthis earlier warned the strikes would end an informal truce between the two sides that has held since 2022.
Key events
A bit more now on the two Emirati tankers hit in the strait of Hormuz in the past few hours.
The United Arab Emirates’ defence ministry said early on Tuesday that the attack killed one mariner and wounded eight others. The ministry blamed Iran for the attack, saying it had launched two cruise missiles at the tankers Mombasa and Al Bahiyah.
The strikes set both tankers ablaze, though the fires were extinguished.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed the attack on the tankers, saying the vessels “ignored repeated warnings”.
“They chose to pass through a minefield and were subsequently targeted and disabled,” the Guards said.
Jordan’s military says it intercepted four missiles launched by Iran.
Jordan hosts a number of US forces and aircraft.
On Monday, Iran claimed it had struck Prince Hassan airbase in Jordan as part of its retaliatory strikes against the US, but Jordan denied the reports were true.
Stocks have fallen and oil hit a one-month high in Asian trading on Tuesday after Donald Trump said the US was reinstating its blockade of Iranian shipping in the strait of Hormuz.
Shares in Taiwan and South Korea were particularly hard hit, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.8%.
Brent crude futures climbed 1.7% to $84.72 a barrel, after earlier hitting their highest point since mid-June at $85.64. Markets were also rattled by comments on Monday from US federal reserve governor Christopher Waller, who said the central bank may need to raise interest rates “in the near term” if data shows inflation continuing well above the 2% target.
Iran responded to the latest US strikes with attacks targeting American bases in Bahrain. It marks the third day in a row that Iran retaliated against Gulf countries after US attacks on its facilities.
Early on Tuesday, Bahrain sounded its missile alert sirens twice, urging the public to seek shelter. There was no word on any damage or casualties from the attack.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed a US Patriot radar, a Fifth Fleet air control radar and other systems were all hit in Bahrain, but there was no independent confirmation.
US Central Command said a little over an hour ago that it had finished the military’s latest wave of strikes against Iran.
It said in a statement posted on X:
During the five-hour mission, U.S. forces successfully struck military targets across Iran including Bushehr, Chah Bahar, Jask, Konarak, Abu Musa, and Bandar Abbas to further degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping
Centcom said it targeted “Iranian coastal defense systems, missile and drone sites, and maritime capabilities”.
More than 50,000 US service members were currently deployed across the Middle East, it added.
US launches fresh strikes on Iran as tankers hit in Hormuz strait
Welcome to our continuing live coverage of the crisis in the Middle East.
The US carried out a third consecutive night of strikes against Iran on Monday and two tankers came under fire in the strait of Hormuz after Donald Trump said Washington was reinstating its blockade of Iranian shipping in the Gulf and would ensure that the strategic waterway stayed open, but for a fee.
US Central Command said it began strikes at the president’s direction just after he said Iran would be hit “very hard tonight and we’re going to hit them hard tomorrow”, later saying the US was attacking Iranian capabilities in the strait.
Soon after, the United Arab Emirates said Iranian cruise missiles struck two Emirati oil tankers while transiting the southern lane of the vital energy transit route in Omani territorial waters, killing one crew member and injuring eight.
With the US-Iran memorandum of understanding in a shambles after fighting reignited between them last week, Trump claimed the strait was open and would stay open “with or without Iran”. The president also announced the US would start charging fees on ships transiting through the waterway, claiming a 20% fee would be levied “for any and all costs necessary” to provide security and safety for vessels.
Iran’s top joint military command said the US had no role in determining the strait’s future and would not be allowed to intervene. Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said on X that Tehran would “forever” be the guardian of the strait, adding over Trump’s comments: “20% is of course too much. We will be fair.”
In other developments:
Iranian media reported explosions in the port city of Bandar Abbas, Iran’s Kish and Qeshm islands and on Abu Musa Island in the Gulf soon after the US military announced renewed strikes on Iran.
The US military started preparing to resume blockading ships heading to and exiting Iranian ports from 4pm ET on Tuesday, US Central Command said, after Trump’s announcement.
Oil prices roes 2% to their highest in four weeks amid heightened uncertainty about energy flows through the strait of Hormuz. Brent crude futures climbed 2% to $84.98 a barrel by 0051 GMT on Tuesday, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.1% to $79.79. Brent crude surged 9.6% in the previous session – its biggest daily gain since May 2020.
The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) said passage through the strait of Hormuz “should remain free of any tolls and charges, in accordance with international law”.
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said its air defences dealt with ballistic missiles launched by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis towards the kingdom’s southern region, as tensions rose after Sana’a airport was attacked. The Houthis earlier said Saudi Arabia had launched strikes on the airport in the Yemeni capital. The Saudi-backed Yemeni government claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it wanted to prevent an Iranian plane from landing. The Houthis earlier warned the strikes would end an informal truce between the two sides that has held since 2022.
