Key events
Opening summary: US launches fresh strikes on Iran as tankers hit in Hormuz strait
Welcome to our continuing live coverage of the crisis in the Middle East.
The US carried out a third consecutive night of strikes against Iran on Monday and two tankers came under fire in the strait of Hormuz after Donald Trump said Washington was reinstating its blockade of Iranian shipping in the Gulf and would ensure that the strategic waterway stayed open, but for a fee.
US Central Command said it began strikes at the president’s direction just after he said Iran would be hit “very hard tonight and we’re going to hit them hard tomorrow”, later saying the US was attacking Iranian capabilities in the strait.
Soon after, the United Arab Emirates said Iranian cruise missiles struck two Emirati oil tankers while transiting the southern lane of the vital energy transit route in Omani territorial waters, killing one crew member and injuring eight.
With the US-Iran memorandum of understanding in a shambles after fighting reignited between them last week, Trump claimed the strait was open and would stay open “with or without Iran”. The president also announced the US would start charging fees on ships transiting through the waterway, claiming a 20% fee would be levied “for any and all costs necessary” to provide security and safety for vessels.
Iran’s top joint military command said the US had no role in determining the strait’s future and would not be allowed to intervene. Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said on X that Tehran would “forever” be the guardian of the strait, adding over Trump’s comments: “20% is of course too much. We will be fair.”
In other developments:
Iranian media reported explosions in the port city of Bandar Abbas, Iran’s Kish and Qeshm islands and on Abu Musa Island in the Gulf soon after the US military announced renewed strikes on Iran.
The US military started preparing to resume blockading ships heading to and exiting Iranian ports from 4pm ET on Tuesday, US Central Command said, after Trump’s announcement.
Oil prices roes 2% to their highest in four weeks amid heightened uncertainty about energy flows through the strait of Hormuz. Brent crude futures climbed 2% to $84.98 a barrel by 0051 GMT on Tuesday, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.1% to $79.79. Brent crude surged 9.6% in the previous session – its biggest daily gain since May 2020.
The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) said passage through the strait of Hormuz “should remain free of any tolls and charges, in accordance with international law”.
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said its air defences dealt with ballistic missiles launched by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis towards the kingdom’s southern region, as tensions rose after Sana’a airport was attacked. The Houthis earlier said Saudi Arabia had launched strikes on the airport in the Yemeni capital. The Saudi-backed Yemeni government claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it wanted to prevent an Iranian plane from landing. The Houthis earlier warned the strikes would end an informal truce between the two sides that has held since 2022.
