US forces have completed a new five-hour wave of strikes on targets across Iran, the third night in a row. At the same time, the United Arab Emirates announced that Iran had rocketed two of its tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, killing one crew member.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on the platform X that military targets in Bushehr, Shabahr, Jask, Konarak, Abu Musa and Bandar Abbas were hit in the five-hour mission. The new strikes were launched early on Tuesday European time.
US President Donald Trump is simultaneously reiterating that an agreement with Tehran is still "possible", but also stating that the Iranian leadership "can do absolutely nothing" against the attacks. The White House confirmed that Trump officially informed Congress last week about the resumption of war with Iran.
On his social media platform Truth Social, Trump announced that the United States would take control of the Strait of Hormuz and reinstate a blockade of Iranian ports. According to the US military announcement, the blockade comes into force on Tuesday at 22:00 Central European Time, and Washington intends to charge 20 per cent of the cargo value for passage through the strait.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arakchi responded on the platform X that Iran has "always been the guardian of the strait and will remain so forever". Trump, he added, was "completely right" that whoever guarantees the safe passage of commercial ships should be paid: "20 per cent is obviously too much. We will be fair."
