- Trump plans Hormuz blockade, proposes 20% cargo transit fee.
- US says strikes hit Bushehr, Bandar Abbas military target.
- Trump says Iran deal still possible despite renewed fighting.
The United States launched a third night of attacks on Iran as President Donald Trump planned to reimpose a blockade on Iranian ports on Tuesday and imposed a 20% fee on shipping in the vital Strait of Hormuz.
Trump said a deal with the Islamic Republic was still possible, although attacks were carried out in which Iran hit two ships in the strategic waterway and killed a crew member, according to the United Arab Emirates.
The US military said its five-hour mission hit targets across Iran, including coastal Bushehr and Bandar Abbas, to “degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping”.
After the attacks, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced that they had retaliated by firing missiles and drones at Bahrain, targeting a residential building for US forces and other facilities.
“We’re going to hit them very hard tonight and we’re going to hit them hard tomorrow,” Trump said at the White House on Monday.
Trump’s declaration of the Hormuz blockade followed US and Iranian strikes on a scale not seen since an April ceasefire in the Middle East conflict, raising doubts about efforts to bring a permanent end to the war.
Iran began blocking the strait after US-Israeli attacks in February, which led to Washington’s blockade of Tehran’s ports – but restrictions were eased after the parties agreed to a tentative deal in June.
Trump said on Monday that the US is “taking over” the strait and will slap a 20% tax on all cargo sent through it, in an announcement that drew derision from Iran and accusations of “piracy”.
US Central Command (Centcom) said Iran’s waterway ports would be blocked from 2000 GMT Tuesday.
Oil prices rose more than 9% on Monday on fears of renewed conflict and rose again on Tuesday by more than 1%.
Tehran launched attacks on other US allies in the region, including Jordan, which said it had shot down four missiles from Iran.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said their attack targeted US forces at an air base and called on the Jordanians to issue a “serious demand for the removal of the occupied US bases from the region”.
These attacks came after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard announced attacks on Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait and Oman on Monday.
Iran insists it is only targeting US interests in the Gulf, but its military command spokesman said any cooperation between Gulf countries with the US would be considered “an act of war”.
Renewed conflict
Trump formally notified Congress last week that the US had resumed military conflict with Iran, the White House confirmed to AFP, giving the Pentagon another 60 days to operate in the region without congressional approval.
In addition to the moves in Hormuz, the US president also threatened to destroy Pickaxe Mountain, a deeply buried nuclear facility near Natanz where Western intelligence agencies suspect Iran is building an undeclared enrichment facility.
“Tell the Iranians to be ready. Let them know we’re coming (and) there’s nothing they can do about it,” he told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt.
Trump declared on Truth Social that the United States would be “known as ‘THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT'” and levy a 20% fee on all goods sent through the waterway.
While Iran’s ports would again be blocked, Trump said “all other countries will have fair and open use of the strait”.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi mockingly replied to X that Trump was “absolutely right” that whoever guarantees safe passage should be compensated – but that Tehran would charge less.
“Obviously 20% is too much,” he said.
Washington has strongly opposed Tehran’s desire to levy tolls in the strait, which international law generally prohibits.
‘In crisis’
Despite all signs to the contrary, Trump said Monday that a deal with Tehran to end the war was still possible.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said earlier Monday that the June memorandum of understanding that formed the basis of the talks and lifted the US blockade was “in crisis”.
Baqaei said Iran would ignore its obligations under the accord if Washington did the same, but added that Tehran was continuing talks with mediators from Qatar, Pakistan and Oman to prevent further escalation.
