US renews Iran strikes as both sides dispute Hormuz status

THE US launched fresh missile attacks against Iran on Sunday (Jul 12) in what has become a pattern of strikes and counterstrikes by Washington and Teheran as the two sides issued conflicting declarations over whether the Strait of Hormuz is open to shipping.

The attacks on Sunday afternoon were the fourth from the US in a week. US Central Command said the weekend strikes were in response to Iranian attacks on a Cyprus-flagged container ship. CNN reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had fired at commercial ships again, and that US aircraft intercepted an Iranian cruise missile and attack drone.

The Islamic Republic then launched retaliatory drone and missile assaults on American allies across the Middle East, including Kuwait, Jordan and Qatar. So far, only minor damage was reported and no one was injured.

US Central Command said in a social media post that the strikes were designed to limit Iran’s ability to attack civilian ships in the strait, adding that US President Donald Trump “has directed the strikes to hold Iranian forces accountable.”

The increasingly heated tit-for-tat attacks are throwing into doubt the fate of US-Iran negotiations that are supposed to lead to the settling of key issues such as the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme and eventually bring an end to the war Washington and Israel began in late February.

Over the weekend of Jul 11 and 12, Iran said the Hormuz strait would now be closed “until further notice.” US Central Command disputed that, saying that waterway was still open to all vessels and the US military is prepared to ensure freedom of navigation. The Joint Maritime Information Center, a global monitoring body, reported on Sunday it was still possible to transit the strait’s southern route.

Trump also said the strait remained open as he spoke on Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press. “We bombed the hell out of them last night,” he said. “They’re very, very evil and sick people.”

The Iranian attacks on commercial shipping has prompted the UK, France and Germany to issue a joint statement condemning the strikes.

“Respect for sovereignty over territorial seas and freedom of navigation are fundamental principles of international law,” the statement said, adding a call for the resumption of the ceasefire and peace talks.

SEE ALSO

Shares slip in Asia amid fresh US-Iran strikes and Hormuz uncertainty

Trump says Strait of Hormuz open to commercial traffic

Oil jumps as Iran and US trade strikes, dispute Hormuz status

Gold declines as renewed US-Iran strikes fuel Fed rate-hike bets

Trump vows to decimate Iran if it carries out assassination plot

More

Axios reported, citing a US official, that some 20 commercial vessels managed to transit the Strait of Hormuz in coordination with the US military.

Strikes on Iran

Iranian media on early Sunday reported blasts on the country’s southern coast, including at the energy and petrochemical hubs of Bushehr and Asalouyeh, the port cities of Bandar Abbas and Bandar-e Dayyer, and the Sirik area near the Hormuz strait, a global energy chokepoint. A communication tower was hit in the southern province of Kerman, injuring two people, according to the Mehr news agency.

Iran’s IRNA news agency reported that 10 or 11 missiles were fired at Qeshm Island later on Sunday by the “enemy,” without causing casualties. Kuwait said a drone attack damaged a Kuwait Oil drilling platform.

A US official told Axios that it conducted a “few” strikes on missile and air defence systems as well as small boats run by the IRGC around the strait.

The IRGC said earlier Sunday it would not allow any vessels to transit the Hormuz strait until foreign interference ends, according to state-run IRIB News.

Control of the waterway – through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas once moved – has been central to US-Iran negotiations. The IRGC accused the US of seeking “to create disruption in the south of the Strait of Hormuz” by “instigating several vessels.”

There was almost no visible traffic in the strait on Sunday. The maritime security threat “remains severe,” the multinational JMIC said in a note.

American allies across the Middle East hit

Before the latest escalation, both the US and Iran had suggested there was still room for talks even as the rhetoric intensified.

The IRGC said it fired ballistic missiles at the Prince Hassan Air Base in Jordan on Sunday, targeting a US command and control centre and multiple drone hangars. The kingdom reported being hit by three missiles, without giving more details.

Qatar, meanwhile, said three people were injured by falling debris after Iranian missiles were intercepted. Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported the Guards had targeted Al-Udeid Air Base with ballistic missiles.

Kuwait also said it was responding to aerial attacks, after Iran’s regular army announced drone assaults aimed at a US Patriot missile battery, an ammunition depot and a radar site in the country. The Iranian military said a US communications array and radar installation in Bahrain were targeted too.

Iranian state media reported other strikes against US naval logistics hubs and aircraft carrier refuelling platforms at Oman’s Port of Duqm. Oman summoned Iran’s ambassador and protested drone attacks that targeted sites in the sultanate’s Musandam and Alwusta governorates, its foreign ministry said.

The IRGC halted a cargo ship after firing a warning shot because it tried to transit the Hormuz strait on Saturday despite a warning, IRIB reported. Fars reported Iranian forces had “struck and halted a second non-compliant vessel,” though it did not provide further details.

A Cyprus-flagged container ship that was hit, M/V GFS Galaxy, is missing a civilian crew member and was unable to continue its journey after suffering significant damage, Central Command said.

Only two oil-products tankers were seen approaching the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday.

One empty very large crude carrier began signalling again in the Persian Gulf close to the Omani side early in the day, suggesting it pushed through the waterway from the Gulf of Oman without its transponders turned on. Bloomberg News could not immediately determine when the supertanker crossed the strait.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi travelled to Oman on Saturday for talks on the future of Hormuz, but there was no sign of involvement by senior US envoys.

Earlier, Iran demanded that the US implement key commitments under a recent deal before more talks take place, rejecting Trump’s contention that negotiations could continue without a ceasefire. Teheran said Washington must meet Iran’s conditions for resolving transit issues through the strait and normalising its oil exports.

On Friday, Trump had threatened to shower Iran with “1000 Missiles” if it acted on a threat to kill the US leader, “in this case, ME!”

The US had also demanded that Iran publicly declare all channels of the Hormuz open to shipping and pledge not to attack civilian vessels transiting the waterway. Teheran would face consequences if it fails to deliver the public assurance, senior Trump administration officials told reporters on condition of anonymity. BLOOMBERG