The United States carried out air strikes on targets in Iran for the third night in a row, and President Donald Trump announced the reinstatement of a naval blockade of Iranian ports and a 20 per cent levy on all cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz, according to the BBC.
The escalation was further sharpened by an attack on two United Arab Emirates tankers on Monday. According to a statement from the UAE Ministry of Defence, Iranian cruise missiles hit two national tankers, killing an Indian crew member and injuring eight people, four of them seriously. The ministry described the attack as "audacious" and assessed it as a serious violation of international law.
Trump posted on the Truth Social platform that the US is reintroducing a blockade of Iranian ports and that a 20 per cent levy will be charged on all cargo in the strait, which he stated was for the costs of ensuring safe navigation. The blockade comes into force on Tuesday at 20:00 UTC, and other countries, he said, would retain a "fair and open" access to the strait.
"We are hitting them very hard," Trump told reporters at the White House, claiming that the US was destroying Iranian offensive capabilities and controlling the strait. When asked about negotiations, he responded that he still believed an agreement with Tehran was possible.
US Central Command (Centcom) stated that the latest strikes were launched on Monday at 16.45 Eastern Time and that US forces would from 14 July once again block maritime traffic to and from Iranian ports. The Iranian military retaliated, according to Iranian state media, by targeting US military sites in Kuwait.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded on the X platform that Iran has "always been the guardian" of the Strait of Hormuz and would remain so, adding that the 20 per cent levy was "of course too much".
Trump informed Congress last Friday that the US had resumed military operations in Iran on 7 July. Under US law, military operations lasting more than 60 days require Congressional approval.
