TEHRAN: President Donald Trump declared the return of a US naval blockade on Iranian ports on Monday, saying Washington would impose hefty fees on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz as fighting once again flared over the vital waterway.
Iran’s military command, however, insisted it would not allow the US to “interfere” in the key conduit for oil and gas, while also warning its Gulf neighbours—who have borne the brunt of its retaliatory attacks—against cooperating with Washington.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi mocked US President Trump over his vow to impose hefty charges on all cargo shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, saying Iran would charge a lower rate. “POTUS is absolutely right. Whoever provides secure and safe passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz should be compensated for this service. Iran has always been the GUARDIAN of the Strait and will remain so FOREVER. 20 per cent is of course too much. We will be fair,” Tehran´s top diplomat wrote, in a social media post.
The competing claims came as the two sides traded attacks of a scale unseen since an April ceasefire. The US military said it hit dozens of targets on Monday, while Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced new strikes in response on Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait and Oman.
The Strait of Hormuz was not an issue before the United States and Israel began their war with Iran in February, and passage through it was free, but Tehran subsequently blocked the waterway and now sees it as essential leverage over Washington.
The US has vehemently opposed Tehran’s desire to charge tolls in the strait, which international law generally forbids, but on Monday, Trump flipped the script and declared that Washington itself would collect fees.
In a post on his Truth Social site, Trump declared that the US would be “known as ‘THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT’,” and “be reimbursed, at the rate of 20 per cent on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World”.
While Iran’s ports would again be blockaded, he said, “all other countries will have fair and open use of the strait”.The spokesman for Iran’s Khatam Al-Anbiya military command, however, insisted that Tehran “under no circumstances will allow... the United States to interfere in the management” of the strategic waterway.
Despite last week declaring the ceasefire with Iran over, Trump has said negotiations aimed at finding a permanent settlement would continue.He told Fox News that there were hours of talks on Sunday, but accused Iranian negotiators of going back on what they had agreed. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said earlier on 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 US did the same, but nonetheless added that Tehran was continuing talks with mediators from Qatar, Pakistan and Oman in an effort to prevent further escalation. “The role of the mediators is to continue their efforts to prevent an escalation of tensions,” said Baqaei.
The past week’s hostilities have centred on the critical energy trade route, which Iran’s Guards say is “closed”.On Monday, spokesman for the Guards Hossein Mohebi accused the US of endangering global oil and gas supplies by interfering in the strait, saying it “must be held accountable” while insisting on Tehran’s sovereignty over Hormuz. Amid the fighting, mediators have been trying to salvage a diplomatic resolution to the war.
An 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. “That only prolongs what will eventually happen: a negotiated settlement.”
Iranian state media reported deaths in the latest US strikes, which it said targeted large areas across the south and west. At least 25 people have been killed in Iran since hostilities resumed on Wednesday, according to an AFP tally based on Iranian announcements.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had struck US military targets and bases in Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait, state media reported on Monday. Air raid alerts sounded in Bahrain, while Kuwait’s army said the country’s forces were intercepting “hostile aerial targets” on Monday. Jordan’s army said it had intercepted four Iranian missiles.
Bahrain’s military accused Iran of committing “heinous attacks with missiles and drones that target civilians”, adding it had shot down a number of Iranian projectiles Monday morning.Iran insists that it only targets US interests in the Gulf, but on Monday afternoon, the spokesman for its military command said that any collaboration by Gulf countries with the United States would be considered “an act of war”.
The UN’s shipping agency pushed back against Trump’s proposal, saying it opposes any fees for straits used in international navigation and stressing that there is no legal basis for introducing mandatory tolls on strait transits.
The US Central Command said on Monday its forces struck a submarine and ship maintenance facility in Iran on Sunday using one-way attack drones. Iran’s official news agency IRNA cited a local official on Monday as saying the US had attacked military sites including Qeshm, Bandar Abbas and Abadan in southern and southwestern Iran. It confirmed the deaths of two people in the Abadan attack.
Trump has said he considers the ceasefire over, while leaving the door open to further talks. “We had a deal. It was a done deal, and then they broke it. They always break it. We’ve had 10 deals with these people, and so we’re just going to hit them very hard,” he said in a phone interview with Fox News on Monday.
The United States used one-way attack sea drones in combat for the first time to strike the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, the US military said on Monday.
Three US Corsair drones targeted “a submarine and ship maintenance facility” at the port on Sunday, marking “the first time American forces have employed sea drones in combat operations,” US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on X.
The strikes—which highlight the growing role of drones in US combat operations—“degraded Iran’s ability to continue attacking commercial shipping,” CENTCOM said.The military command’s post included a video of sea drones exploding near two piers, sparking fires and sending smoke pouring into the air over the port.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps accused the United States on Monday of jeopardising global oil and gas supplies by interfering in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, as renewed hostilities flared. IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebi said Washington had “seriously endangered the security of the world’s oil and gas supply and must be held accountable”, adding in a post on X that Tehran “will continue to exercise sovereignty over and management of the Strait of Hormuz”.
Iran on Monday fired “warning shots” at two ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz, state television reported, as Tehran and Washington battle for control of the strategic waterway.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres raised the alarm Monday over US strikes on Iran as well as Tehran’s attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and its neighbors.
A small number of vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, despite the heightened security threats as Tehran and Washington battle for control of the strategic waterway. Just 14 vessels—half of which were commercial ships—crossed on Sunday, according to data from maritime tracker Kpler, suggesting the waterway is not completely closed as Iran had announced.
At least three commodity vessels crossed so far on Monday, according to Kpler.However, traffic is significantly disrupted by security risks after Iran attacked another ship on Saturday and exchanged strikes with the United States near the waterway.
Bahrain’s military accused Iran of targeting civilians with its latest attacks on the kingdom, after Tehran said it had struck US military facilities and infrastructure there. Kuwait’s armed forces said they were responding to “hostile aerial targets” on Monday.
The Jordanian military said it had shot down four Iranian missiles over the country.The UN’s shipping agency said that it opposes fees on ships passing through maritime waterways but would await more details after US President Donald Trump said he would reinstate a naval blockade on Iran and charge 20 per cnet on all cargo shipped through the Strait of Hormuz.
The US military will begin enforcing a maritime blockade on Iran on Tuesday, the US Navy-led Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) said on Monday. The blockade, covering all of Iran’s ports, oil terminals and coastal areas, will be enforced for all vessel traffic - regardless of flag - from 2000 GMT on July 14, the centre said in an advisory. The centre said neutral transit through the Strait of Hormuz heading to or from non-Iranian destinations will not be impeded.
Democratic senators led by Kirsten Gillibrand called on Monday for President Donald Trump’s administration to disclose within the next week the findings from a US military investigation into a Feb. 28 strike at a girls’ school in Iran.
US President Donald Trump said he would make a primetime address to the nation on Thursday, in an announcement that comes amid a major flare-up of hostilities with Iran. “President Trump will be making a Speech to the Nation on Thursday evening, at 9 P.M. Eastern (0100 GMT Friday). Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump said in a post Monday on his Truth Social network.
Iran’s STATE TV cites Iranian army as saying that it targeted a ‘hostile’ US vessel with cruise missiles, and targeted US military facilities and equipment in Kuwait with drones.US President Trump said that the US would take out Pickaxe Mountain in Iran, as he warned that Washington would continue to hit the country hard.
“We’re going to take out Pickaxe Mountain. Tell the Iranians to be ready,” Trump said in an interview on the Hugh Hewitt Show.“We’re watching (Pickaxe Mountain) closely. We see no activity there. They’re not doing well with their nuclear situation. Every time we hear about it, we blow it up. So they don’t like talking about it. But we’ll probably give Pickaxe a shot relatively soon,” Trump said.
Pickaxe Mountain, located near Iran’s heavily damaged Natanz uranium enrichment facility, is a heavily fortified site that hosts two deeply buried tunnel complexes that experts assess as beyond the reach of the most powerful bunker buster bombs in the US arsenal. Trump said Iran would be hit hard Monday and Tuesday. “We’re going to hit them very hard tonight and we’re going to hit them hard tomorrow. And there’s not a damn thing they can do about it,” he said.
The US military said on Monday it launched strikes against Iran for the third consecutive day at the direction of President Donald Trump. “At 4:45 p.m. et today, U.S. central command began launching third consecutive night of strikes against Iran,” US military said.Iranian State TV said sound of two explosions heard on Iran’s Kish Island.
