US Central Command (Centcom) has begun conducting strikes against Iran to reduce the threat to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
The renewed attacks are designed to ‘further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz’, Centcom said last night, after the US hit 80 Iranian targets in response to Tehran firing upon three ships in the critical waterway, one of which caught fire.
“The United States is holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway,” Centcom added.
Iran’s Irna news agency reported power cuts in parts of Chabahar after explosions.
The confrontation comes after US President Donald Trump said he would ‘probably’ order strikes on Iran following his declaration that the ceasefire was ‘over’.
In a flare-up of hostilities that pushed up oil prices, Iran said earlier in the day it had targeted sites in Bahrain and Kuwait after US forces struck Iranian targets in response to attacks on the tankers.
The attacks further undermined a shaky ceasefire agreement and dented hopes of turning the memorandum of understanding signed on June 17 into a permanent peace deal to end the war, which began with US-Israeli air strikes on Iran on February 28.
“If we make a deal with Iran I’m not sure that will stick,” Trump said, “because I found them to be very dishonourable people.”
But Trump did not explicitly say Washington would return to full-fledged war and it was not immediately clear whether or not the negotiations on reaching a permanent deal would continue.
Asked before a Nato summit in Türkiye whether the memorandum of understanding was over, Trump said: “It’s a very interesting question. To me, I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them.
“They’re scum. They’re sick people. They’re led by sick people,” he told reporters in Ankara.
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s just a waste of time dealing with them,” he said, before adding: “Now, I’ll let our wonderful negotiators keep talking if they want, but I don’t see it. I don’t like these people, you know that.”
A source familiar with the Ankara talks said Trump did not repeat his comments about the interim deal being over when Nato leaders met at the summit, but the president later warned of new strikes in comments to reporters.
“I’ll give a little warning: We’re going to hit them hard tonight,” Trump said before a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
The latest attacks have heightened safety and security concerns around the Strait of Hormuz, with shipping data showing at least four oil and gas tankers had turned back rather than try to transit the waterway, a vital supply route.
Trump has at times stepped back from threats he has made against Iran, but oil prices jumped and global bond markets tumbled. Brent crude futures leapt more than seven per cent, the most in a day since late May.
The US Central Command earlier said more than 60 small boats used by the IRGC were among the targets hit in an operation it said was intended to impose a heavy cost on Iran for strikes on shipping in violation of the ceasefire.
Trump said the US had ‘knocked out 28 boats’ and would probably hit more later.
Secretary General Mark Rutte told reporters before the Nato summit that the new attacks by the US on Iran were ‘absolutely necessary’.
Iranian media earlier reported explosions in Iran’s main oil hub of Kharg Island, on Qeshm Island and in the southern port cities of Sirik and Bandar Abbas.
Irna confirmed that eight members of its army and navy were killed in US strikes.
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