US forces carried out a third consecutive night of strikes against Iran on Monday, as President Donald Trump pledged further military action and Washington reinstated a naval blockade of Iranian ports. Speaking at the White House, Trump said the campaign would continue and that Iran should expect to be hit hard again. US Central Command confirmed the latest strikes began Monday evening, saying the operation aimed to weaken Iran’s military capacity and protect civilian and commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz. CENTCOM said the blockade of Iranian ports first imposed earlier this year and paused under a ceasefire arrangement would resume Tuesday, and word of its return sent global oil prices sharply higher on fears of wider disruption to Gulf shipping.
Trump used Truth Social to declare the US the “guardian” of the Strait of Hormuz and floated a 20 percent fee on cargo passing through it, though he later said he’d drop the toll in favor of Gulf-state investment in the US instead. He said the blockade would apply only to Iranian shipping, with other nations retaining free passage. Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, responded sarcastically on social media, agreeing that whoever secures the strait deserves compensation while arguing Tehran could do it for far less, and had, in his view, long been the strait’s rightful guardian.
Trump also raised the possibility of striking Pickaxe Mountain, a fortified underground facility near the damaged Natanz nuclear site believed to house uranium-enrichment infrastructure. In a radio interview, he warned Tehran to be ready, saying there was little it could do about it, though outside experts have cautioned the site’s depth may put it beyond the reach of even the most powerful American bunker-buster munitions.
The renewed strikes come despite efforts to revive an earlier ceasefire understanding that had briefly paused hostilities; Trump said talks, including discussions over the weekend, were continuing even as he declared the truce effectively over. Iran’s foreign ministry said the agreement was now in serious jeopardy and warned it would abandon its own commitments if Washington didn’t do the same, while noting mediators from Qatar, Pakistan and Oman remained engaged. Pakistan separately called for restraint on both sides.
Iranian state media reported explosions and casualties across the country’s south and west, including near Bandar Abbas on the strait, with tallies based on official Iranian statements putting the death toll since fighting resumed last week at roughly two dozen.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed missile attacks on US installations in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait; all three reported activating air defenses and intercepting incoming projectiles. Tehran said its operations targeted only US interests in the Gulf but warned any regional state aiding US operations would be treated as a party to the conflict. UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged restraint from all sides.
AFP
Tags: #Trump #Iran #Straitofhormuz #UN #Antonio Guterrres