The US military said it has launched a fresh salvo of attacks on Iran, marking the third night in a row that it had struck the country, as a deal to end the war falters.
“These strikes will continue imposing a heavy cost on Iranian forces and degrade their ability to attack innocent civilians and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” US Central Command said in a statement on social media.
Earlier this evening, US President Donald Trump said that the US was reinstating a naval blockade on Iran and would be reimbursed 20% on all cargo shipped through the Strait of Hormuz after Tehran claimed it had closed the vital waterway.
“The Hormuz Strait is OPEN, and will remain OPEN, with or without Iran. We are reinstating THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE,” Mr Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
“The U.S.A… will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World,” he said.
The process would begin immediately, he said, but did not elaborate.
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Mr Trump floated the idea earlier in a phone interview on Fox News’ ‘Fox & Friends’ programme, saying that the US would probably take over the strait and should be reimbursed.
“We’re going to keep the strait, and we’ll probably run it,” he said on the programme.
“We’ll become the guardian of the strait. Maybe we’ll call it the guardian angel of the strait. And we should be reimbursed for that.”
Control of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global oil supplies, has become one of the main battlegrounds of the conflict.
Iran’s effective blockade of the strait has pushed up energy prices and increased concerns about inflation globally.
“We’re going to be reimbursed, because the other nations are very wealthy. They’re on our side, and we can’t be expected to do that for nothing,” he said.
Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman
After announcing the waterway’s closure on Saturday following what it described as an unauthorised transit, Tehran said yesterday that the passage remained suspended and that permits would be issued once “stability and calm” were restored.
“We had a deal. It was a done deal, and then they broke it. They always break it. We’ve had 10 deals with these people, and so we’re just going to hit them very hard,” Mr Trump said.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement that the only way to restore regular shipping traffic through the strait was to end US military interventions in the waterway, and warned that “continued interference could lead to greater incidents in the global oil and gas sector”.
US and Iranian forces exchanged heavy missile and drone attacks over the weekend and into today, with Tehran saying it had struck US military facilities across the Gulf and kept the Strait of Hormuz closed, driving oil prices higher.
The latest exchanges mark a sharp escalation in both the pace and geographic reach of attacks over the past week, casting doubt on an interim US-Iranian agreement signed last month to reopen the strait and halt hostilities while the sides pursued a further 60 days of negotiations.
Mr Trump has said he considers the ceasefire over, while leaving the door open to further talks.
Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, posted on X yesterday: “The era of one-sided deals is OVER. We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking.”
The war launched by the US and Israel against Iran on 28 February has destabilised the Gulf and spread across the region, with Iran attacking US bases in multiple countries.
The Iran-aligned Houthi movement that controls northern Yemen accused Saudi Arabia of launching airstrikes against the airport in Sanaa, and vowed to retaliate.
Oil prices jump
Control of the Strait of Hormuz has become one of the main battlegrounds of the conflict. Iran’s effective blockade of the strait has pushed up energy prices and increased concerns about inflation globally.
Brent crude jumped by more than 3% today on fears of disruption to one of the world’s most important energy shipping routes, although prices remained below the peaks reached earlier in the conflict.
After announcing the strait’s closure on Saturday following what it described as an unauthorised transit, Tehran said yesterday that passage remained suspended.
Higher energy prices, particularly gasoline costs, are politically sensitive for Mr Trump before congressional elections in November.
Thousands of people have been killed during the war, mainly in Iran and Lebanon. Iranian state media confirmed the deaths of two people today in Abadan in southwestern Iran.
Iran has not released an overall death toll from attacks over the past week, but state media reports and official statements on individual incidents suggest about 20 people have been killed by renewed US strikes.
Iran seeks Oman deal on Strait traffic
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement that the only way to restore regular shipping traffic through the strait was to end US military interventions in the waterway, and warned that “continued interference could lead to greater incidents in the global oil and gas sector.”
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Iran was seeking to establish a joint mechanism with Oman to manage traffic through the strait, adding that US pressure on Oman had hindered discussions.
Iran has sought to establish a permanent fee and permit system for vessels using the waterway, which before the war carried about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.
Read more: Latest Middle East stories
The US, which revoked a licence waiving sanctions on Iranian crude sales last week after earlier attacks on shipping, said its forces were positioned to safeguard freedom of navigation despite what it called “aggression, harassment, threats, and arbitrary declarations” from Iran.
“Iran does not control the strait. Traffic is flowing,” it said.
US officials said around 20 vessels had been escorted through the strait in the previous 24 hours, though ship-tracking data showed little traffic moving.
MarineTraffic said that vessel activity through the strait declined by about 52% over 10-12 July compared to the previous week.