Tehran (AFP) – The United States launched a third night of strikes on Iran as President Donald Trump planned to reimpose a blockade Tuesday on Iranian ports and floated a 20 percent fee on cargo in the vital Strait of Hormuz. Trump said a deal with the Islamic republic was still possible even as attacks were carried out, with Iran striking two ships in the strategic waterway and killing one crew member, according to the United Arab Emirates.
The US military said its five-hour mission hit targets across Iran including coastal Bushehr and Bandar Abbas to “degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping.” After the strikes, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced they had in turn fired missiles and drones on Bahrain, targeting a residential building for US forces and other facilities. “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.
Trump’s declaration on the Hormuz blockade followed US and Iranian attacks of a scale unseen since an April ceasefire in the Middle East conflict, adding to doubts about efforts to bring a permanent end to the war. Iran started blocking the strait after US-Israel attacks in February, which prompted Washington’s blockade on Tehran’s ports — but restrictions eased after the sides agreed on a preliminary deal in June. Trump said Monday that the United States was “taking over” the strait and would slap a levy of 20 percent on all cargo shipped through it, in an announcement that drew mockery from Iran and accusations of “piracy.”
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Iran’s ports on the waterway would be blockaded from 2000 GMT on Tuesday. Oil prices shot up more than nine percent Monday over fears of renewed conflict and rose again Tuesday, piling on more than one percent. Tehran launched attacks on other US allies in the region, including Jordan, which said it had shot down four missiles from Iran. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said their strikes targeted US forces at an air base and urged Jordanians to issue a “serious demand for the removal of the occupying American bases from the region.”
These attacks came after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced strikes on Monday on Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, and Oman. Iran insists it only targets US interests in the Gulf, but its military command spokesman said that any collaboration by Gulf countries with the United States would be considered “an act of war.”
– Resumed conflict –
Trump formally notified Congress last week that the United States had resumed military conflict against Iran, the White House confirmed to AFP, giving the Pentagon an additional 60 days to operate in the region without congressional approval. In addition to the moves in Hormuz, the US president 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 (and) there’s not a damn thing they can do about it,” he told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. Trump declared on Truth Social that 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 responded mockingly on X that Trump was “absolutely right” that whoever guarantees safe passage should be compensated — but that Tehran would charge less. “20% is of course too much,” he said. Washington has vehemently opposed Tehran’s desire to charge tolls in the strait, which international law generally forbids.
– ‘In crisis’ –
Despite all signs to the contrary, Trump said Monday that a deal with Tehran to end the war was still possible. 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.” Baqaei said Iran would ignore its obligations under the deal if Washington did the same, but added that Tehran was continuing talks with mediators from Qatar, Pakistan, and Oman to prevent further escalation.
Bader Al-Saif, an associate fellow at Chatham House, 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,” he said. “Hence the return to and increase in the scale of attacks.”
© 2024 AFP
