Control of Hormuz: Iran, US step up attacks, battle

Iran fired missiles at Jordan and Bahrain yesterday after the United States launched a five-hour attack on Iranian targets, stepping up a battle for control of the Strait of Hormuz that has pushed up oil prices to four-week highs.

US forces carried out waves of attacks for the third night in a row after Tehran said it had closed the strait, prompting US President Donald Trump to reinstate a blockade of Iranian shipping and propose charging a 20 percent fee to guard the waterway.

Iran hit back by attacking a US Army base in Jordan with ballistic missiles while Bahrain, which hosts a US naval base, said it had fended off an Iranian aerial attack. Jordan said it had shot down four ballistic missiles and explosions were heard in Manama, Bahrain’s capital.

The worsening attacks have increased doubts that a memorandum of understanding signed last month will lead to a permanent halt in the war, which has disrupted global energy supplies and raised fears of a rise in inflation globally.

The US has said its renewed attacks on Iran are intended to “degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping.”

Iranian media reported US strikes on a number of cities and said four people had been wounded. Several explosions were heard in Bushehr and Choghadak, according to Fars News Agency, and IRNA quoted a provincial official as saying four areas of Bushehr city were hit. Earlier, the US strikes hit Kish Island, Qeshm Island and Bandar Abbas, reports Reuters.

No casualties were reported in Iran’s attack on the US Army base in Jordan, and the strike on the kingdom was on a smaller scale than at the height of the war, when it at times faced much heavier barrages.

The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Defence said Iranian missiles struck two Emirati oil tankers while transiting the strait. One Indian crew member was killed and eight others were wounded, the ministry said.

Trump said late on Monday the US was reinstating its blockade of Iranian shipping, and he still believes a negotiated agreement with Iran is possible. Trump also sent Congress formal notification that hostilities against Iran resumed on July 7, a letter his administration sees as opening a new 60-day window to use the military in the region without congressional approval.

The US Navy-led Joint Maritime Information Center said the blockade was due to take effect at 2000 GMT yesterday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi wrote on X that Tehran was the guardian of the strait and would remain so “forever”, adding in response to Trump: “20% is of course too much. We will be fair.”

The UN shipping agency said it opposed any fees for straits used in international navigation and that there was no legal basis for introducing mandatory tolls on strait transits.

Recorded transits of tankers through the strait had fallen in recent days to their lowest levels for weeks, though the level of traffic is hard to determine due to ships switching off their tracking systems.