Trump reinstates US blockade on the Strait of Hormuz

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned of increasing tension in Iran.

His spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, “They expressed deep concern at the serious escalation of renewed military confrontation in the Gulf region, including Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, attacks by the United States on the Islamic Republic of Iran, and attacks by Iran on neighboring countries.”

The US military’s Central Command, or CENTCOM, said its forces attacked a submarine and ship maintenance facility at Iran’s Bandar Abbas naval base using maritime drones on Sunday.

According to CENTCOM, three Corsair unmanned surface ships attacked the port facility, in what the command described as the first combat use of maritime drones by US forces.

CENTCOM said the attacks damaged infrastructure used to maintain naval vessels and reduced Iran’s ability to continue attacks on commercial shipping.

Iranian officials have not commented publicly on the claims.

President Donald Trump says the United States is reinstating a blockade targeting Iranian shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

In a social media post, Trump said Iranian ships and their customers would no longer be allowed to enter or depart the strategic waterway.

“The United States, from this point forward, will be known as the ‘custodian of the Strait of Hormuz,’ but as such, and as a matter of fairness, it will be reimbursed at a rate of 20% on all cargo shipped for any and all costs necessary to perform the task of providing security to this extremely volatile section of the world,” he said.

Trump says that other countries will continue to have fair and open access to this route.

This announcement comes after another major incident of firing between American and Iranian forces.

Before Iran claimed control after the war began, the Strait of Hormuz carried about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supply.

Yemen’s internationally recognized government claimed the attack on the airport in Sanaa was carried out to prevent an Iranian plane carrying Houthi rebels from landing.

The Yemeni Defense Ministry said, “The terrorist Houthi militia, supported by the Iranian regime, prevented Yemeni national aircraft from landing at the airport in the capital Sanaa, while insisting on allowing an Iranian aircraft to violate Yemeni territory; as a result, the airport runway was targeted.”

Meanwhile, the Houthis initially claimed that Saudi Arabia carried out airstrikes on the airport, with military spokesman Yahya Sari saying, “This aggression will not go unanswered or punished.”

Orders have been issued to evacuate the airport and surrounding areas.

A Saudi-led coalition based in Yemen’s south, where the internationally recognized government sits, has for years been fighting the Iranian-aligned Houthis, who control much of central and northern Yemen as well as the capital.

Bahrain’s military has accused Iran of targeting civilians with its latest attacks on the kingdom, contradicting Tehran’s claim that it only targeted military sites.

“Iran continues its systematic hostile approach through its devastating attacks with missiles and drones targeting civilians in the Kingdom of Bahrain,” the island nation’s military general command said in a statement.

It said air defenses “intercepted and destroyed several Iranian airstrikes” on Monday morning.

Iran has said it has carried out attacks on US military facilities and infrastructure in the Gulf country, which is home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday that Iran will not abide by the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the US if Washington does not stick to its commitments to end the war.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghai said, “Every time the other side has failed to fulfill its obligations, we have not fulfilled our obligations… We will continue to act in this manner.”

Nevertheless, Iran will continue talks with mediators from Qatar, Pakistan and Oman.

“The role of the mediators is to continue their efforts to prevent an escalation of tensions,” Bakayei said.

Iran said it had destroyed radar systems in Oman, news agency AFP reported on Monday, citing a statement published by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) media branch.

The IRGC navy “targeted and destroyed” a long-range airborne radar and a ship-detection radar in Oman, the IRGC said in a statement carried by its outlet Sepah News.

There is yet to be any statement from Oman on the Iranian attack.

On Sunday, Oman – which has long played the role of negotiator between Iran and the West – summoned the Iranian ambassador to lodge a formal protest over Tehran’s attacks on Omani territory.

Jordan said it shot down four missiles launched by Iran, state news agency Petra reported on Monday.

According to Petra, a Jordanian military source said the missiles “violated” Jordanian airspace from Iranian territory in the early morning, adding that no casualties or material damage were reported in the incident.

There was no immediate comment from Iran on its claim of downing its missiles.

Kuwait’s armed forces said on Monday they were responding to “hostile air targets” on Monday as Iran retaliated against US air strikes.

“The armed forces are currently intercepting hostile air targets within Kuwaiti airspace,” the chief of Kuwait’s army said in a statement carried by the official KUNA news agency.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it attacked Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain on Monday in what it described as the second phase of Tehran’s retaliatory attacks against recent US attacks.

Bahrain’s airstrike alert was issued for the second time in two hours, according to a post by the US ally’s Interior Ministry on Twitter.

Bahrain is home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet.

State media IRNA quoted the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as saying that Iran attacked US military bases in Kuwait.

Ali al-Salem air base – which hosts members of the US Air Force – was reportedly attacked.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it has concluded a new wave of strikes against Iran, hitting dozens of targets with precision weapons in multiple locations.

According to a statement released by CENTCOM on Monday, US forces attacked Iranian air defense systems, coastal radar sites, missile and drone equipment and small boats.

It said that the US used fighter aircraft, naval ships, one-way attack aerial drones and one-way attack maritime drones for the first time during the latest attacks.

The US military insisted that Tehran “does not control” the Strait of Hormuz.

“The Strait of Hormuz is a vital sea corridor for global trade. Iran does not control it,” Centcom said.

The statement also said the US military was “ready and prepared to ensure that freedom of navigation for commercial navigation is maintained” despite what it accused of Tehran’s “continued unjustified aggression, harassment, threats and arbitrary declarations”.

In a statement, Iran’s paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced it had launched a new series of attacks across the Middle East.

The IRGC said it fired missiles and drones at Prince Hassan Air Base in Jordan, setting fire to fuel tanks and ammunition depots.

The IRGC described the attacks as the first phase of a response to US attacks on Iranian coastal targets.

Air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain on Monday morning, the island nation’s Interior Ministry said, ordering residents to take shelter as Iran responded to the latest US attacks targeting US interests in the Gulf.

“Sirens have been sounded… citizens and residents are urged to remain calm and move to the nearest safe place,” the Interior Ministry posted on Twitter.

Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported early Monday that a US strike on a water pumping station in the southwestern Iranian city of Mahshahr killed one person and wounded four others.

“After the American enemy attack on Monday morning… one person was martyred and four others were wounded,” IRNA quoted Khuzestan province’s deputy governor for security and law enforcement as saying.

There was no immediate statement from the United States on the alleged attack.