The US military has launched a new wave of attacks against Iran amid the escalating standoff over the strait of Hormuz, with Tehran saying the latest strikes had “rendered futile” all the diplomatic efforts of the past few months.
The US military began launching more strikes against Iran at 9pm GMT on Sunday, US Central Command (Centcom) said on X, “to continue degrading their ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the Strait of Hormuz”.
It added that President Donald Trump “has directed the strikes to hold Iranian forces accountable”. Trump, referring to the weekend strikes on Iran, said: “We’re beating them up.”
Iran retaliated by attacking nations in the region hosting US military forces. Jordan’s army said it had shot down four Iranian missiles. Kuwait’s armed forces said they were responding to “hostile aerial targets” on Monday as Iran carried out strikes on US interests in the Gulf.
The strikes were the latest in a cycle of attacks and counterattacks as Iran seeks to assert control over shipping through the vital energy route, but the barrage marked an escalation in pace and range. Centcom said it carried out about 140 strikes on Saturday night.
The renewed violence has cast further doubt on the future of an interim US-Iranian truce agreement signed last month. Centcom said some ships were continuing to cross the waterway.
Iran’s earlier strikes on Sunday extended to Qatar, a mediator in ceasefire talks that had not come under attack since April. The United Arab Emirates, which had not been targeted since early May, said its air defences had engaged missiles and drones from Iran.
The newly established Iranian “Persian Gulf Strait Agency” stated that passage through the strait is currently not possible due to “recent illegal U.S. military actions in the region.” Permits will be issued “as soon as stability and calm are restored,” the statement said.
The U.S., which on July 7 revoked the license authorizing the sale of Iranian crude oil following earlier attacks on ships, announced that its forces are positioned to ensure freedom of navigation, despite “aggression, harassment, threats, and arbitrary statements” by Iran.
The Combined Maritime Information Center, led by the U.S. Navy, reiterated that despite the serious security threat, the “extended” southern route near Oman remains open to two-way traffic.
Centcom reported on July 11 that U.S. forces had struck more than 300 Iranian military targets over the course of three nights this week. For its part, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard stated that, in response, it had struck targets in Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar.