Tensions in the Middle East escalated sharply on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump reimposed a naval blockade on all Iranian ports and threatened attacks on power plants and bridges next week unless Tehran returns to negotiations. The United States also said it had resumed military strikes aimed at further weakening Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran, meanwhile, said it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz after hostilities between the United States and Iran resumed last week. The move has cast further doubt over the fragile ceasefire established in June after months of conflict that began in February and has killed thousands of people.
In an interview with Fox News, Trump said he was leaving energy-related facilities “for last” for now, but that they would ultimately also be attacked. Trump added that power plants and bridges would be hit next week unless Iran returns to the negotiating table and starts talks.
The 1949 Geneva Conventions prohibit attacks on installations considered indispensable to the civilian population under rules governing humanitarian conduct in war. Trump also said US negotiators had contacted their Iranian counterparts and warned them that reaching a deal would be in their best interest.
Iran’s military said early on Wednesday that it had launched drone attacks against US positions at Azraq base in Jordan. No immediate comment was available from the Pentagon. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, said it had also struck weapons and military storage sites in Bahrain and Kuwait.
Kuwait’s military said its air defence systems were intercepting Iranian drone attacks. The country’s state news agency said a fire had been brought under control. Reuters said it could not immediately verify those reports independently.
The latest rise in hostilities has raised fresh doubts about whether the memorandum of understanding signed last month can bring a lasting end to the war. The conflict has already drawn in Iran’s neighbouring countries and caused major disruption to global energy supplies.
The office of the governor of Bandar Abbas told Iranian state media that US missiles struck areas around the city of Bandar Abbas on the Strait of Hormuz late on Tuesday night. State news agency IRNA separately reported US missile strikes near Sirik in southern Iran.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi told state television that the United States was mistaken if it believed military action, economic blockade and increased pressure could force Iran back to negotiations. Before the war began in February, nearly one-fifth of the world’s total oil and gas shipments passed daily through the Strait of Hormuz.
The United States alleged late on Tuesday that Iran had attacked seven commercial ships in the past week, leaving about a dozen sailors dead, missing or injured. The United Arab Emirates said Iranian cruise missile strikes on two Emirati oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz killed one Indian sailor and wounded eight others.
The IRGC said it had attacked and disabled two “criminal” supertankers after repeated warnings were ignored. The names of the vessels were not disclosed.
Amid the rising tensions, Trump abandoned a proposal floated on Monday to impose a 20% transit fee on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. After criticism from the United Nations shipping agency and other parties, Trump said on Tuesday he would instead seek investment deals with Gulf countries. He gave no further details.
The naval blockade against ships travelling to Iranian ports and coastal areas took effect again at 8:00pm GMT on Tuesday, or 2:00am Bangladesh time. The blockade had been lifted in June. Trump said the Strait of Hormuz would remain open to all countries except for Iranian vessels. According to US military information, more than 20 US Navy warships and hundreds of military aircraft are currently deployed in the region.
The war is unpopular inside the United States as petrol prices have risen ahead of congressional elections in November. International benchmark Brent crude has risen 15% over the past seven days to $85 a barrel, its highest level since mid-June.
The war, which began in February with a joint US-Israeli attack on Iran, has killed thousands of people so far, most of them in Iran and Lebanon. The conflict widened after Iran launched retaliatory attacks against neighbouring countries, drawing other Gulf states into the fighting.
Although the international economy has so far managed the energy shock to some extent, the International Monetary Fund warned last month that the war would pose a major risk if it continued beyond mid-July. The IMF said many countries had already used a large share of their strategic oil reserves to cushion the impact on consumers.
A Reuters opinion poll found that half of respondents believe the cost of the war is not justified by its gains.
Iran said on Tuesday that it had launched a ballistic missile attack on a US military base in Jordan. Bahrain, which hosts a US naval base, said it had intercepted an Iranian aerial attack. Several other Gulf countries also came under attack.
Iranian state media reported that, according to the office of the governor of Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, a US missile struck the island at about 7:00pm on Tuesday.
Washington has repeatedly said Iran must never be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons, although Tehran denies trying to build them. Iran says sanctions imposed on it must be lifted and that other countries must recognise Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump also said several countries, which he did not name, had told him they would prefer to invest in the United States instead of paying transit fees. He did not specify which Gulf countries had agreed to what kind of investment, or whether any understanding had actually been reached.