Tehran (AFP) – US President Donald Trump on Monday said the United States would again strike Iran “hard,” as the military launched a fresh salvo of attacks for the third night in a row and reimposed a blockade on Iranian ports. “We’re going to hit them very hard tonight, and we’re going to hit them hard tomorrow,” Trump said at the White House on Monday. Shortly after, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said strikes had begun at 2045 GMT, adding that they would “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 reimposed blockade would begin at 2000 GMT on Tuesday, CENTCOM said, as oil prices shot up more than nine percent after both sides traded attacks, raising fears of renewed conflict. In a post on Truth Social, Trump declared the United States would be “known as ‘THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT'” and levy a 20 percent fee on all cargo shipped through the waterway. While Iran’s ports would again be blockaded, Trump said “all other countries will have fair and open use of the strait.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi immediately mocked Trump’s toll threat, writing on X that “POTUS is absolutely right” that whoever guarantees safe passage should be compensated — but that Tehran would charge less. “20% is of course too much,” he said, adding that Tehran would be a fair guardian in charging tolls on the waterway vital for oil and gas trade. Washington has vehemently opposed Tehran’s desire to charge tolls in the strait, which international law generally forbids. The competing claims came as the two sides traded attacks of a scale unseen since an April ceasefire came into effect.
The US military said it hit dozens of targets early Monday, while Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced new strikes on Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, and Oman. Trump also threatened to destroy Pickaxe Mountain, a deeply buried nuclear site near Natanz where Western intelligence suspects Iran is building an undeclared enrichment facility. “Tell the Iranians to be ready. Let them know we’re coming…there’s not a damn thing they can do about it,” he said in a radio interview.
– ‘In crisis’ –
Despite declaring last week that the ceasefire with Iran was over, Trump has said negotiations aimed at a permanent settlement would continue. He told Fox News there were hours of talks on Sunday. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said earlier Monday that the June memorandum of understanding that formed the basis for the negotiations and lifted the US blockade was “in crisis.” The previous blockade, in place from April to June, cut off Iranian oil exports and threatened a damaging shutdown of the industry.
Baqaei said Iran would ignore its obligations under the deal if the United States did the same, but added that Tehran was continuing talks with mediators from Qatar, Pakistan, and Oman to prevent further escalation. Pakistan, a key intermediary, expressed “deep concern at escalation in regional tensions,” according to its foreign office. But analyst Bader Al-Saif said the escalating attacks would merely delay a permanent agreement. “Both sides want to end the impasse on their own terms, and they are increasingly finding it difficult to do so. Hence the return to and increase in the scale of attacks,” said Al-Saif, an associate fellow at Chatham House.
– ‘Heinous attacks’ –
Iranian state media reported deaths in the latest US strikes, which it said targeted large areas across the south and west. At least four explosions were heard Monday east of Bandar Abbas, which sits on the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media reported, citing a reporter in the port city’s province. At least 25 people have been killed in Iran since hostilities resumed on Wednesday, according to an AFP tally based on Iranian announcements.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday expressed “deep concern” at the regional escalation, including attacks by both sides. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had struck US military targets and bases in Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait, state media reported. Air raid alerts sounded in Bahrain, where the military said it shot down a number of Iranian projectiles, while Kuwait’s army said its forces were intercepting “hostile aerial targets.” Jordan’s army said it had intercepted four Iranian missiles. Iran insists it only targets US interests in the Gulf, but the spokesman for its military command said any collaboration by Gulf countries with the United States would be considered “an act of war.”
© 2024 AFP
