US launches strikes as Iran says Strait of Hormuz closed

Summary

The US military launched fresh strikes on Iran after it struck a container ship, while Tehran said it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz and escalated attacks on US facilities in states across the Gulf. A series of attacks between the US and Iran over the past several days led President Donald Trump to declare the end of a ceasefire meant to halt the fighting that the US and Israel began on 28 February, although Mr Trump has left the door open to continued negotiations. Iran said it closed the strait after firing a warning shot that struck a vessel traveling on an unapproved route. It warned that any retaliation over the incident would be met with a "severe response." US Central Command, however, said commercial vessels continue to transit through the waterway that carried one-fifth of the world's oil and LNG shipments before the war. Central Command said US forces hit 140 Iranian military targets yesterday, out of more than 300 during three nights of strikes "to degrade Iran's ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial vessels freely transiting the strait." Iranian state media reported explosions in a number of port cities. In response, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said today that they had destroyed a command and control centre and drone hangars at a base in US ally Jordan, targeted a US military radar site in Kuwait, attacked US aircraft carrier support and refuelling platforms in Oman and destroyed a fighter jet maintenance centre and command and control facility in Qatar. The Guards also said they had struck and disabled a second vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. The United Arab Emirates said its air defence systems engaged missiles and drones from Iran, while warning sirens sounded in Bahrain and explosions were heard in Doha. Iran's strikes marked a sharp escalation in pace and targets. In recent weeks, Iran had hit sites in Kuwait and Bahrain while avoiding Qatar since early April and the UAE since early May. The war has destabilised the Gulf, while Iran's effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has caused energy prices to surge, fuelling global inflation and raising fears of an economic slowdown. Higher prices, especially for fuel, are a politically sensitive issue for Mr Trump ahead of November congressional elections. Iran said several ships attempted to move through the waterway on an "unauthorised route" and disregarded warnings to correct their course. The strait will remain closed until "the end of US interference in this region," the Revolutionary Guards said. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has accused the United States of violating the ceasefire agreement. "There can only bemutual compliance," he wrote on X on Friday. This morning, Iran's top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf posted on X: "The era of one-sided deals is OVER. We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking." The US revoked the license authorising the sale of Iranian crude on Tuesday after three Qatari and Saudi commercial tankers came under fire earlier in the week, prompting the US to hit Iranian sites. Iran then struck US military sites in Gulf states. While Iran has not claimed responsibility for the ship attacks, analysts say Tehran uses such actions to gain leverage in negotiations. Mr Araqchi and Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi met in Oman to exchange "views on appropriate mechanisms for the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz," according to a statement from the Iranian foreign minister. Oman's state news agency said Omani and Iranian negotiators would continue talks "at the technical and political levels." A written statement from Iran's new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, yesterday threatened vengeance for the death of his predecessor and father, who was killed in the war's initial attacks. It said the vengeance would take place whatever happened to Iran. "We pledge to avenge the blood of the martyred leader and all the martyrs," the message said. The statement was released to mark funeral ceremonies for the former leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Thursday. His son did not attend the ceremonies and has not been seen in public since the war began.