US launches new Iran strikes, reimposes naval blockade

TEHRAN: US forces carried out strikes against Iran for a fourth day in a row on Tuesday (Jul 14) and reimposed a naval blockade to prevent ships from sailing to or from the country's ports.

While US President Donald Trump backtracked on his threat to heavily tax ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, he warned he would expand US strikes on Iran next week to target power plants and bridges if Tehran does not agree to a deal.

"Next week it gets really bad for them because next week comes the power plants. Next week comes the bridges," Trump said in an interview on Fox News.

"We're going to knock out all their power plants. We're going to knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate."

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the latest strikes were aimed at "degrading Iranian capabilities used to attack commercial shipping" in the strait, the key shipping channel for Gulf oil and gas where Tehran has repeatedly carried out attacks on civilian vessels.

Iranian state media reported explosions near the port city of Bandar Abbas, on the Gulf island of Qeshm near the Strait of Hormuz, and other locations.

State news agency IRNA later said that Iranian forces launched a drone attack on a military base in Jordan that hosts American warplanes.

The renewed naval blockade came into force at 8pm GMT (4am, Singapore time) - an hour after the US strikes began - with a senior Iranian official saying the move effectively wrecked a deal struck with Washington to pause the conflict to allow peace talks to take place.

Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the US decision to renew the blockade "has, in a way, dismantled the Islamabad memorandum".

Admiral Brad Cooper, head of CENTCOM, said in a statement Tuesday that over the past week, "Iran has intentionally targeted civilians across the region by attacking seven commercial ships resulting in nearly a dozen civilian crew members killed, missing, or injured".

"US forces are holding Iran accountable for unwarranted aggression that continues to endanger innocent lives," he added.

Iran had earlier Tuesday said a previous round of US strikes targeted Qeshm, while local authorities also said US forces struck "four points" in Bushehr - which hosts Iran's only civilian nuclear power plant - as well as an Iranian border area near Iraq and Kuwait.

TRUMP SCRAPS LEVY

Iran in turn hit two ships in the Strait of Hormuz, killing two crew members, according to the International Maritime Organization.

A Norwegian tanker was also hit by an explosion caused by an unidentified device off the Omani coast early Tuesday, the crisis response company MTI Network said.

And Kuwait said one of its naval vessels was struck during an Iranian missile and drone barrage, wounding four crew members.

Trump meanwhile said he was scrapping a planned levy on ships passing through the Strait of Hourmz that he announced Monday, replacing the fee with trade deals with Gulf allies.

"I have decided to replace the 20 per cent United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social network.

Since last week, renewed US attacks have killed at least 28 people in Iran, according to an AFP tally based on Iranian media and official announcements.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards announced Tuesday that they had fired missiles and drones on Bahrain, targeting a residential building for US forces and other facilities.

"ACT OF WAR"

Bahrain said it had intercepted "several treacherous aerial attacks launched by Iran" and accused Tehran of targeting civilians, after explosions and sirens were heard in Manama several times.

Iran started blocking the strait following US-Israel attacks in February, after which Washington imposed a first blockade on Tehran's ports that lasted from mid-April to mid-June.

Tehran also launched attacks on other US allies in the region, including Jordan, which said Tuesday that it had shot down four missiles from Iran.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said their strikes targeted US forces at an air base and urged Jordanians to issue a "serious demand for the removal of the occupying American bases from the region".

Iran insists it only targets US interests, but its military command spokesman said any collaboration by Gulf countries with the US would be considered "an act of war".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a fierce opponent of Iran's alleged nuclear ambitions, warned Iranian leaders Tuesday that Israel would deal a heavy blow if they launched an attack on his country.

Speaking from Dimona, a southern town widely believed to house Israel's undeclared nuclear arsenal, he told them: "Do not count on things remaining quiet if you attack us."

"The days are over when someone strikes us and we don't hit back with a decisive blow."