US restores Iran blockade as Strait of Hormuz truce edges towards collapse
The United States launched fresh strikes on Iran and restored a blockade around Iranian ports. Iran retaliated across the Gulf, putting the Strait of Hormuz truce and regional stability at risk.
The United States launched fresh strikes on Iran early Tuesday, hours after President Donald Trump said Washington would reinstate a blockade of Iranian ports and charge ships for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran responded by attacking US allies in the Middle East, pushing an interim deal meant to pause the war closer to collapse.
The renewed fighting has again put the focus on the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global energy supplies, and raised the risk of wider economic disruption. The temporary agreement was meant to reopen the waterway and give negotiators 60 days to work towards a permanent end to the war, but recent exchanges and the latest US and Iranian moves have left that arrangement in peril.
The US military's Central Command said it struck several areas in Iran, targeting "coastal defence systems, missile and drone sites and maritime capabilities". Iran acknowledged the strikes but did not immediately give details of casualties or damage. "These strikes will continue imposing a heavy cost on Iranian forces and degrade their ability to attack innocent civilians and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz," the US military said.
Soon after the announcement, Trump called it "another major attack" and said the US was "putting the blockade back". Later, he wrote on social media, "We are reinstating the THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE," adding, "All other countries will have fair and open use of the Strait." He also said the US would charge a fee of 20 per cent of the value of cargo to cover "any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security." Washington had lifted a blockade imposed in mid-April as part of the interim deal, but the US military said it would resume it at midnight in Dubai.
Iran responded by targeting Bahrain, Jordan and two tankers linked to the United Arab Emirates that were travelling through the strait. The attack set both vessels, Mombasa and Al Bahiyah, ablaze for a time. The Emirati Defence Ministry said one mariner was killed and eight others were wounded, and the UAE threatened retaliation. Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed responsibility, saying the vessels had "ignored repeated warnings". Iran has been targeting ships using a route near Oman outside Iranian territorial waters.
Bahrain, which hosts the US Navy's 5th Fleet, came under renewed attack early Tuesday, with missile alert sirens sounding three times and residents urged to take shelter. Jordan's military said it intercepted four Iranian missiles. Jordan hosts US forces and has also been targeted by Tehran in recent days.
The focus of the conflict is now firmly on the strait, through which a fifth of traded crude oil and natural gas moved in peacetime. Iran had effectively shut the passage during the war by attacking and threatening ships, driving up the prices of oil, fertiliser and other goods. The interim deal was meant to reopen the route, but Iran has continued to attack some ships moving through it. The US has now threatened to reopen the strait by force, though experts say that could require a far larger naval deployment, if not tens of thousands of American troops on Iranian soil.
The latest developments also cast fresh doubt on negotiations linked to the wider conflict. The interim deal was meant not only to halt fighting but also to create space for a final agreement covering Iran's disputed nuclear programme and other issues. Under that arrangement, Iran agreed that passage through the strait would remain free for 60 days, but it did not settle what would happen after that. Iran says it has the right to manage traffic through the strait and possibly charge fees, a position the US disputes.
Any move by either side to charge ships would go against global norms on freedom of navigation and could deepen economic disruption. Brent crude rose to over USD 86 a barrel in trading on Tuesday, a one-month high, though still below the nearly USD 120 seen at the height of the war.
Elsewhere, Lebanese and Israeli delegations were expected to meet in Rome on Tuesday for US-mediated negotiations. Shortly after the US and Israel launched the war on February 28, Hezbollah entered the conflict in support of Iran and began attacking Israel, which responded with a ground invasion of Lebanon. Last month, Lebanon and Israel announced a framework agreement under which Israeli forces would withdraw from southern Lebanon in exchange for Hezbollah being disarmed, but progress has stalled. A truce is in place in Lebanon, though it remains unclear whether it can hold if the US and Iran return to full-scale war.
The latest US strikes, Iran's retaliatory attacks and Washington's move to restore the blockade have sharply weakened the interim deal that was meant to calm the region. With the Strait of Hormuz again at the centre of the conflict, the risk of further military escalation and wider economic fallout has risen.
With PTI Inputs
The United States launched fresh strikes on Iran early Tuesday, hours after President Donald Trump said Washington would reinstate a blockade of Iranian ports and charge ships for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran responded by attacking US allies in the Middle East, pushing an interim deal meant to pause the war closer to collapse.
The renewed fighting has again put the focus on the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global energy supplies, and raised the risk of wider economic disruption. The temporary agreement was meant to reopen the waterway and give negotiators 60 days to work towards a permanent end to the war, but recent exchanges and the latest US and Iranian moves have left that arrangement in peril.
The US military's Central Command said it struck several areas in Iran, targeting "coastal defence systems, missile and drone sites and maritime capabilities". Iran acknowledged the strikes but did not immediately give details of casualties or damage. "These strikes will continue imposing a heavy cost on Iranian forces and degrade their ability to attack innocent civilians and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz," the US military said.
Soon after the announcement, Trump called it "another major attack" and said the US was "putting the blockade back". Later, he wrote on social media, "We are reinstating the THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE," adding, "All other countries will have fair and open use of the Strait." He also said the US would charge a fee of 20 per cent of the value of cargo to cover "any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security." Washington had lifted a blockade imposed in mid-April as part of the interim deal, but the US military said it would resume it at midnight in Dubai.
Iran responded by targeting Bahrain, Jordan and two tankers linked to the United Arab Emirates that were travelling through the strait. The attack set both vessels, Mombasa and Al Bahiyah, ablaze for a time. The Emirati Defence Ministry said one mariner was killed and eight others were wounded, and the UAE threatened retaliation. Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed responsibility, saying the vessels had "ignored repeated warnings". Iran has been targeting ships using a route near Oman outside Iranian territorial waters.
Bahrain, which hosts the US Navy's 5th Fleet, came under renewed attack early Tuesday, with missile alert sirens sounding three times and residents urged to take shelter. Jordan's military said it intercepted four Iranian missiles. Jordan hosts US forces and has also been targeted by Tehran in recent days.
The focus of the conflict is now firmly on the strait, through which a fifth of traded crude oil and natural gas moved in peacetime. Iran had effectively shut the passage during the war by attacking and threatening ships, driving up the prices of oil, fertiliser and other goods. The interim deal was meant to reopen the route, but Iran has continued to attack some ships moving through it. The US has now threatened to reopen the strait by force, though experts say that could require a far larger naval deployment, if not tens of thousands of American troops on Iranian soil.
The latest developments also cast fresh doubt on negotiations linked to the wider conflict. The interim deal was meant not only to halt fighting but also to create space for a final agreement covering Iran's disputed nuclear programme and other issues. Under that arrangement, Iran agreed that passage through the strait would remain free for 60 days, but it did not settle what would happen after that. Iran says it has the right to manage traffic through the strait and possibly charge fees, a position the US disputes.
Any move by either side to charge ships would go against global norms on freedom of navigation and could deepen economic disruption. Brent crude rose to over USD 86 a barrel in trading on Tuesday, a one-month high, though still below the nearly USD 120 seen at the height of the war.
Elsewhere, Lebanese and Israeli delegations were expected to meet in Rome on Tuesday for US-mediated negotiations. Shortly after the US and Israel launched the war on February 28, Hezbollah entered the conflict in support of Iran and began attacking Israel, which responded with a ground invasion of Lebanon. Last month, Lebanon and Israel announced a framework agreement under which Israeli forces would withdraw from southern Lebanon in exchange for Hezbollah being disarmed, but progress has stalled. A truce is in place in Lebanon, though it remains unclear whether it can hold if the US and Iran return to full-scale war.
The latest US strikes, Iran's retaliatory attacks and Washington's move to restore the blockade have sharply weakened the interim deal that was meant to calm the region. With the Strait of Hormuz again at the centre of the conflict, the risk of further military escalation and wider economic fallout has risen.
With PTI Inputs
