US Restores Strait of Hormuz Blockade, Launches New Strikes on Iran

The United States military has launched a fresh wave of attacks against Iran, escalating a conflict that President Donald Trump initially predicted would last four weeks but is now entering its fifth month. On Monday, the U.S. Central Command confirmed a new round of strikes. Hours earlier, President Trump announced the U.S. is "restoring" a blockade on Iran in the strategic Strait of Hormuz. He declared the U.S. would charge other vessels for passage, calling himself the "guardian of the strait." "Tonight we are going to carry out another large-scale attack," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "We have destroyed their army. We are hitting them very hard." The president said the U.S. is targeting Iran's ability to operate in the strait. "We are going to neutralize their entire capacity regarding the Strait of Hormuz," he said. "I think we will end up taking total control of the situation." The strikes, which lasted five hours, hit military targets in Bushehr, Chah Bahar, Jask, Konarak, Abu Musa, and Bandar Abbas. The U.S. military said it used precision munitions against coastal defense systems, missile and drone facilities, and Iranian naval capabilities to reduce Tehran's ability to attack commercial shipping. **Iran retaliates** Iran responded quickly. On Tuesday, it launched new attacks against Jordan and Bahrain, both U.S. allies. Jordan's state news agency Petra said Amman intercepted and shot down four missiles that entered its airspace from Iran early Tuesday. Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for the strikes on Washington's allies. The IRGC-linked Tasnim news agency reported the destruction of a U.S. air control radar in Bahrain, which hosts American military bases. Bahrain's Interior Ministry activated air raid sirens three times, urging citizens to seek shelter. No deaths have been reported there. An attack attributed to Iran on two oil tankers in the southern Strait of Hormuz killed one Indian crew member and wounded six Indians and two Ukrainians, according to the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Defense. The ministry said the Mombasa and Al Bahiyah tankers were hit by two cruise missiles while in Omani waters. The Iranian army warned it will not allow the U.S. to "interfere in the management of the Strait of Hormuz under any circumstances." This follows Sunday's IRGC statement that the strait will remain closed "until further notice." Tensions have spiked despite a June 17 memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran to end the war, reopen the strait, and begin talks on Iran's nuclear program. Trump claimed Iran broke a recent agreement and that the U.S. "cannot tolerate" further violations.