US reimposes Iran port blockade as Hormuz truce shows signs of collapse
The United States has restored its blockade on Iranian ports after accusing Tehran of attacking ships near the Strait of Hormuz. The step has strained the interim truce further and revived fears of a wider Middle East war.
The United States early Wednesday reimposed a blockade on Iranian ports after accusing Tehran of attacking ships trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, as an interim deal meant to pause the war showed further signs of breaking down. The move was followed by fresh American strikes and new attacks on countries hosting US forces.
The latest exchange has again raised fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East, centred on the strategically important waterway through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas trade passes in peacetime. Days of retaliatory action by both sides, and efforts to control movement through the strait, have pushed the region closer to all-out war.
The US had first imposed the blockade in mid-April and lifted it in mid-June, a day after signing an interim deal that created a 60-day window for talks on issues including Iran’s nuclear programme. But negotiations have stalled as fighting around the strait has intensified. On Wednesday, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened to stop all energy exports from the Middle East over the blockade, saying, "The export of oil and gas from the region will be either for everyone or for no one." When President Donald Trump announced the return of the blockade on Monday, he also said he would impose a 20 per cent fee on ships using the strait, but dropped the plan within hours after requests from allies in the Persian Gulf.
As the blockade was restored, the US launched another wave of strikes, hitting dozens of targets over seven hours, according to Central Command. Missile alerts were issued in Bahrain and Kuwait early Wednesday over incoming Iranian fire, in what has become a daily occurrence and added to the strain on a ceasefire. Jordan also said it shot down three incoming Iranian missiles, while Iran claimed attacks on all three countries. US Navy Admiral Brad Cooper, who heads Central Command, said Iran had launched dozens of missiles and drones at neighbouring Gulf Arab countries. "US forces are holding Iran accountable for unwarranted aggression that continues to endanger innocent lives," Cooper said. The US presence in the region includes at least 19 warships in the Arabian Sea, among them two aircraft carriers and an amphibious assault ship carrying more than 1,000 Marines. Central Command also said there are "hundreds of military aircraft operating across the Middle East".
When the US and Israel launched the war on Iran on February 28, Tehran effectively shut the passage by attacking and threatening ships, sending the prices of oil, fertiliser and other goods sharply higher. More recently, Iran has attacked ships on a route near Oman that is overseen by the US military and lies outside Tehran’s control, triggering the latest violence. The US has threatened to reopen the strait by force, though experts say that would require a much larger naval force, if not tens of thousands of ground troops. Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, criticised the continuing American attacks, writing to the world body’s leader, according to the state-run IRNA news agency, "The US is the aggressor, not the victim."
Trump said on Tuesday that leaders in the region had suggested an alternative to charging ships to pass through the strait. "They said we’d love to do it a different way. We’d love to invest in the United States with billions and billions of dollars," he told reporters in the Oval Office. He said he preferred that arrangement to tolls "because I don’t think anybody should be able to charge a fee for the strait". It was not clear whether those investment deals would be new commitments compared with what Trump announced after a visit to the Middle East last year. Trump also told Fox News Channel that more US strikes on Iran were expected over the next two days, and that bridges and power plants could be targeted by next week unless negotiations resume. "You better make a deal, or you’re not going to have anything left," Trump warned.
Central Command said it struck several areas in Iran earlier on Tuesday, while Tehran acknowledged the attacks but gave no overall casualty or damage assessment. Hours after the US said its strikes had ended, the Iranian city of Bushehr on the Persian Gulf was hit in at least four locations, IRNA reported. Iranian state media also reported explosions in Ahvaz in the south-west and in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas on Tuesday night. The attacks again raised the possibility that Gulf Arab states were retaliating against Iran without saying so publicly. Separately, Kuwait said an Iranian attack wounded four members of its navy on Tuesday and set a building on fire.
The interim deal had said passage through the strait would remain free of charge for 60 days, but did not settle what would happen after that period. Iran says it has the right to manage traffic and possibly impose fees, while the US disputes that. Brent crude briefly rose above USD 87 a barrel early Tuesday, though that remained well below the nearly USD 120 seen at the height of the war, and later fell to USD 78 after Trump said he was changing course on fees. Regional mediators are still trying to bring the US and Iran back to the negotiating table, but with the blockade back in place and strikes continuing, the agreement appears increasingly fragile.
With PTI Inputs
The United States early Wednesday reimposed a blockade on Iranian ports after accusing Tehran of attacking ships trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, as an interim deal meant to pause the war showed further signs of breaking down. The move was followed by fresh American strikes and new attacks on countries hosting US forces.
The latest exchange has again raised fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East, centred on the strategically important waterway through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas trade passes in peacetime. Days of retaliatory action by both sides, and efforts to control movement through the strait, have pushed the region closer to all-out war.
The US had first imposed the blockade in mid-April and lifted it in mid-June, a day after signing an interim deal that created a 60-day window for talks on issues including Iran’s nuclear programme. But negotiations have stalled as fighting around the strait has intensified. On Wednesday, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened to stop all energy exports from the Middle East over the blockade, saying, "The export of oil and gas from the region will be either for everyone or for no one." When President Donald Trump announced the return of the blockade on Monday, he also said he would impose a 20 per cent fee on ships using the strait, but dropped the plan within hours after requests from allies in the Persian Gulf.
As the blockade was restored, the US launched another wave of strikes, hitting dozens of targets over seven hours, according to Central Command. Missile alerts were issued in Bahrain and Kuwait early Wednesday over incoming Iranian fire, in what has become a daily occurrence and added to the strain on a ceasefire. Jordan also said it shot down three incoming Iranian missiles, while Iran claimed attacks on all three countries. US Navy Admiral Brad Cooper, who heads Central Command, said Iran had launched dozens of missiles and drones at neighbouring Gulf Arab countries. "US forces are holding Iran accountable for unwarranted aggression that continues to endanger innocent lives," Cooper said. The US presence in the region includes at least 19 warships in the Arabian Sea, among them two aircraft carriers and an amphibious assault ship carrying more than 1,000 Marines. Central Command also said there are "hundreds of military aircraft operating across the Middle East".
When the US and Israel launched the war on Iran on February 28, Tehran effectively shut the passage by attacking and threatening ships, sending the prices of oil, fertiliser and other goods sharply higher. More recently, Iran has attacked ships on a route near Oman that is overseen by the US military and lies outside Tehran’s control, triggering the latest violence. The US has threatened to reopen the strait by force, though experts say that would require a much larger naval force, if not tens of thousands of ground troops. Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, criticised the continuing American attacks, writing to the world body’s leader, according to the state-run IRNA news agency, "The US is the aggressor, not the victim."
Trump said on Tuesday that leaders in the region had suggested an alternative to charging ships to pass through the strait. "They said we’d love to do it a different way. We’d love to invest in the United States with billions and billions of dollars," he told reporters in the Oval Office. He said he preferred that arrangement to tolls "because I don’t think anybody should be able to charge a fee for the strait". It was not clear whether those investment deals would be new commitments compared with what Trump announced after a visit to the Middle East last year. Trump also told Fox News Channel that more US strikes on Iran were expected over the next two days, and that bridges and power plants could be targeted by next week unless negotiations resume. "You better make a deal, or you’re not going to have anything left," Trump warned.
Central Command said it struck several areas in Iran earlier on Tuesday, while Tehran acknowledged the attacks but gave no overall casualty or damage assessment. Hours after the US said its strikes had ended, the Iranian city of Bushehr on the Persian Gulf was hit in at least four locations, IRNA reported. Iranian state media also reported explosions in Ahvaz in the south-west and in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas on Tuesday night. The attacks again raised the possibility that Gulf Arab states were retaliating against Iran without saying so publicly. Separately, Kuwait said an Iranian attack wounded four members of its navy on Tuesday and set a building on fire.
The interim deal had said passage through the strait would remain free of charge for 60 days, but did not settle what would happen after that period. Iran says it has the right to manage traffic and possibly impose fees, while the US disputes that. Brent crude briefly rose above USD 87 a barrel early Tuesday, though that remained well below the nearly USD 120 seen at the height of the war, and later fell to USD 78 after Trump said he was changing course on fees. Regional mediators are still trying to bring the US and Iran back to the negotiating table, but with the blockade back in place and strikes continuing, the agreement appears increasingly fragile.
With PTI Inputs
