Donald Trump has said the US will be guardians of Strait of Hormuz and impose a 20 percent toll on ships using it
Two UAE oil tankers were struck by Iranian cruise missiles in the Strait of Hormuz, the UAE said this morning, killing one Indian crew member was killed and wounding eight others.
The strikes, which Abu Dhabi condemned as a “blatant attack” followed a five-hour barrage of US strikes, targeting military bases across Iran, including Bushehr, Chah Bahar, Jask, Konarak, Abu Musa, and Bandar Abbas.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said two "offending supertankers" were struck after ignoring warnings, turning off navigation systems and attempting to pass through "a mined route", the Guard said according to Iranian media.
Tehran also launched missiles at Jordan and Bahrain, where it claimed it struck “several weapons storage depots, a satellite communications centre, and a building housing US forces” at the Al-Juffair base.
US Central Command said its troops had “employed precision munitions against Iranian coastal defence systems, missile and drone sites, and maritime capabilities”.
The renewed strikes come as Trump vowed to charge a 20 per cent toll on vessels moving through the strait, a plan which Iran's foreign minister has mocked.
Watch: US military says it used drone boats on Iranian targets in first-of-its-kind attack
Trump: There's not a damn thing Iran can do about our strikes
Speaking to the "Hugh Hewitt Show" on Monday, Trump was typically bombastic in his threats towards Iran.
The country would be hit "very hard tonight, and we're going to hit them hard tomorrow,” he said. “And there's not a damn thing they can do about it."
The US has followed up these threats, launching a five-hour barrage strikes across the country in the third consecutive night of attacks.
The latest hostilities come after Iran said at the weekend it was closing the Strait of Hormuz, casting further doubt on an interim deal to halt the war and driving oil prices higher.
"The Hormuz Strait is OPEN, and will remain OPEN, with or without Iran. We are reinstating THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE," Trump had said earlier on Monday on Truth Social.
"The U.S.A. will be, from this point forward, known as 'THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT', but as such, and as a matter of FAIRNESS, will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped."
Iranian oil exports continuing as usual despite resumption of US sanctions, says Tehran
Iran's oil exports are continuing as usual despite the cancellation last week of a 60-day waiver of US oil sanctions, oil minister Mohsen Paknejad said on his official Telegram account on Tuesday.
Paknejad said the oil ministry had maintained mechanisms for years to neutralise the impact of US sanctions and that Iran's oil exports would face no problems despite the removal of the waivers.
Trump is a toxic ally. His war with Iran is once again spreading across the Gulf
As the war in Iran spreads again to Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait and Donald Trump announces a 20 per cent toll on all ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, it’s time the Gulf states realised the US president is a dangerous ally, writes world affairs editor Sam Kiley.
More here.
Trump is a toxic ally. His war with Iran is once again spreading across the Gulf
Iran executes two men convicted of links to Isis
Iran executed two men convicted of being members of an Isis-linked militant cell and of armed action against the Islamic Republic, the Iranian judiciary's news outlet Mizan reported this morning.
Mizan said Mohieddin Abdollahi and Hossein Palani were sentenced to death after their convictions were upheld by the Supreme Court, adding that the cell had planned attacks in Iran after operating from the Bamo heights along the Iran-Iraq border.
India summons Iranian envoy over killing of seafarer
India has summoned Iran's deputy ambassador to lodge a protest after an Indian crew member on board an Emirati tanker was killed in an Iranian airstrike.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said this morning that two "offending" supertankers had been hit and disabled in the strait after ignoring repeated warnings, turning off navigation systems and attempting to pass through what the Guard described as a mined route.
New Delhi over the weekend condemned Iran's attack on another merchant vessel off the coast of Oman with these 11 Indian nationals on board.
At least 10 seafarers were resued while one Indian national went missing following the attack.
Brazil's Lula calls Trump's tariff plans amounts to 'piracy' in Hormuz
Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has criticised US president Donald Trump's proposal to impose a 20 per cent tariff on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
"President Trump tweeted that he will unblock the Strait of Hormuz. But for every ship unblocked, every ship removed from the strait, the oil owner must pay him 20 per cent," Lula said in Sao Paolo.
"This used to be considered piracy," Lula said. "A major nation like the United States, which I believe has fought against piracy for a long time, cannot now become a pirate," he added.
Oil prices hit one month-high as Trump reinstates Iran blockade
Oil prices climbed to their highest level in four weeks after the US reinstated a naval blockade on Iran and announced plans to charge ships a 20 per cent toll on all cargo transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude futures rose 2.1 per cent to $85.11 a barrel in early Tuesday trading, while West Texas Intermediate, the US crude benchmark, gained 2.3 per cent to $79.91 a barrel, extending gains after Brent surged 9.6 per cent in the previous session – its biggest single-day rise since May 2020.
Prices have now climbed to their highest levels since the US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding on 17 June aimed at ending the conflict.
More here.
Oil prices hit one month-high as Trump reinstates Iran blockade
Iran rescues bulk carrier crew after collision in Strait of Hormuz
Iran rescued 23 foreign crew members after a bulk carrier collided with another vessel north of Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
The bulk carrier suffered serious damage to its hull and began taking on water, prompting the captain to order an emergency evacuation, Fars said, adding that all crew members were safely transferred to Qeshm Island.
Iran says it targeted US air base in Jordan
A US air base in Jordan was targeted by Iranian ballistic missiles on Tuesday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement published by Fars News, calling on the Jordanian people to dismantle American bases in their country.
"You know very well that not only do we not have any enmity with your country, but we also love you, the noble people, who understand the pain and oppression of the Palestinian people more than any other nation," the statement said.
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