U.S. Launches Fresh Strikes on Iran After Iran Attacks Container Ship in Strait of Hormuz

The United States launched several waves of strikes on Iran on Sunday after an Iranian attack on a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz set it ablaze and left a crew member missing the day before, and Iran responded with attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Oman.

Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz closed, while the U.S. military said it was seeking "to degrade" Iran's "ability to attack commercial ships freely transiting" the critical strait.

Al-Jazeera Net

The conflict unfolded as the U.S. and Iran neared the midway point of the 60-day period of their interim deal aimed at reaching a permanent end to the war, and the strait remained a sticking point in negotiations that seemed in danger of collapse.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned, "A return to full-scale hostilities would have catastrophic consequences," as explosions were heard in Bandar Abbas and Hajiabad city to the north.

The U.S. military earlier Sunday said it hit some 140 targets, including missile and drone launch sites, ammunition dumps, communication equipment and other sites, after a third round of strikes late Sunday night and into Monday in Iran.

Asked by US broadcaster NBC News about the status of the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said the passageway is "open," and in the same coverage he said, "We bombed the hell out of them last night."

DW reported that Iran's navy declares it has closed the Strait of Hormuz, while US Central Command said in a statement that "traffic is flowing" in the Strait of Hormuz, contradicting Iran's assertion that the maritime passageway is closed.

Al-Monitor

Kuwait's Defence Ministry said three "land border posts" in the north and an offshore drilling platform of the Kuwait Oil Company were damaged, with one worker wounded, and Qatar's military said it intercepted incoming Iranian fire with explosions heard in the neighbouring United Arab Emirates.

DW also said IRNA described "hostile attacks" and several detonations in the port city of Bandar Abbas, and that more than ten projectiles struck the strategic island of Qeshm, with governor Hossein Amir Teymouri telling IRNA that there had been no casualties.

The Washington Post described the escalation as the heaviest fire in months, with both sides striking numerous military targets after Iran announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and disabled a civilian container ship.

The dispute threatened the interim U.S.-Iranian agreement and the future of peace negotiations, with the Washington Post saying the escalation raised questions about the future of peace negotiations underway since the two countries signed a 14-point memorandum of understanding on June 17.

The Guardian reported that a U.S.-Iranian memorandum of understanding signed on 17 June extended a ceasefire in the war by 60 days to allow the restoration of trade through the strait and create breathing space for talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme and sanctions relief.

The Guardian also quoted Mohsen Rezaee, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, saying, "This strategic passage is more important than dozens of atomic bombs," and that Iran would protect it.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Central Command said the strait "remains an international waterway" and that U.S. forces were positioned and prepared to keep it that way, even as Iran insisted the waterway was closed until calm is restored.

CBC reported that about a fifth of all traded oil and natural gas passed through the strait before the war, and Al Jazeera said the Bangladesh Garment Workers' Federation called a nationwide strike over a separate factory fire, underscoring how different crises can overlap in global attention.