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Strikes and blockade moves
The United States began a third consecutive night of strikes against Iran on Monday, hours ahead of President Donald Trump’s announced reinstatement of a naval blockade on Iran in the Strait of Hormuz.
Missiles hit the area around the Iranian city of Konarak, according to Iranian state media late on Monday, while a reporter in the province said at least four explosions were heard east of Bandar Abbas.
The U.S. framed the campaign as pressure tied to shipping, saying in a post that "These strikes will continue imposing a heavy cost on Iranian forces" and degrade their ability to attack commercial shipping.
Trump also told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, "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."
The renewed exchange of fire threatened the interim ceasefire agreement between Washington and Tehran, with arguments over the status of the Strait of Hormuz described as endangering the fragile truce.
Competing claims and tolls
Trump said the U.S. was "reinstating" a blockade on Iran in the Strait of Hormuz and, in a policy reversal, would charge other ships for safe passage, while Iran insisted it controls the waterway.
The U.S. Central Command said it would resume its blockade of Iranian ports Tuesday at 4 p.m. EDT, and it said the blockade would cover the entire Iranian coast including ports and oil facilities.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi mocked Trump on social media, writing on X: "POTUS is absolutely right. Whoever provides secure and safe passage" should be compensated for that service.
The International Maritime Organization said it was waiting to find out more about Trump’s proposal but remained opposed to tolls, stating, "There is no legal basis through which to introduce mandatory tolls" to transit a strait.
In parallel, the BBC reported that Trump said the operations would also target Iranian nuclear facilities located beneath mountains, threatening to destroy them completely.
Regional impacts and legal fights
The confrontation expanded beyond the waterway, with the BBC reporting that Iranian Fars News Agency said explosions were heard on Iranian Gulf islands including Kish and Qeshm and Abu Musa Island after Trump’s statements.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported intense explosions in the city of Konarak near midnight Monday Tehran time, and it also noted reports of explosions on Larak Island and the city of Chabahar.
The BBC also said Iranian authorities announced the deaths of two people and injuries to others in an American attack on scattered sites from Abadan in southwestern Iran on Monday.
In Washington, ABC News reported that the White House formally notified Congress of resuming military operations against Iran, and the BBC said the notification came amid legal and political controversy over the War Powers Act deadline.
The BBC added that Trump wrote on Truth Social that the Hormuz Strait is open and will remain open, whether with Iran or without it, and that the U.S. would reimpose the blockade on Iran.
