US hits Iran with strikes and shipping blockade as Trump plans 20% Hormuz toll

[DUBAI/WASHINGTON] The US military carried out a third consecutive night of strikes against Iran on Monday (Jul 13) and two tankers came under fire in the Strait of Hormuz, after US President Donald Trump said the United States was reinstating its blockade of Iranian shipping in the Gulf and would ensure that the strategic waterway stayed open – for a fee.

US Central Command said it began strikes at Trump’s direction just after the US president told the Hugh Hewitt Show that Iran would be hit “very hard tonight, and we’re going to hit them hard tomorrow. And there’s not a damn thing they can do about it.” He later told reporters at the White House that the US was attacking Iranian capabilities in the strait.

Soon after, the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Defence said Iranian cruise missiles struck two Emirati oil tankers, the Mombasa and Al Bahiyah, while transiting the southern lane of the strait in Omani territorial waters, killing one crew member and injuring eight others.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) said a tanker had been hit by an unknown projectile while travelling 40 nautical miles north-east of Oman’s Qalhat and that all crew were safe.

Reuters could not immediately verify whether the UKMTO report referred to the same incident as the one reported by the UAE’s Ministry of Defence. Iran has not commented on the latest attacks.

“The Hormuz Strait is OPEN, and will remain OPEN, with or without Iran. We are reinstating THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE,” Trump had said earlier on Monday on Truth Social.

“The U.S.A. will be, from this point forward, known as ‘THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT’, but as such, and as a matter of FAIRNESS, will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped.”

Iran’s top joint military command said the US had no role in determining the future of the waterway and would not be allowed to intervene. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqhchi wrote on X that Teheran was the guardian of the strait and would remain so “forever”, adding in response to Trump’s comments that: “20% is of course too much. We will be fair.”

‘Hostile’ US vessel

Soon after the US military announced renewed strikes on Iran, Iranian media reported explosions in the port city of Bandar Abbas, Iran’s Kish and Qeshm islands and on Abu Musa Island in the Gulf.

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Iran’s Fars news agency said residents in the city of Jam in Iran’s Bushehr province also heard several explosions but that the exact location of the blasts was not clear. No casualties were reported.

Iran’s south-western Khuzestan province was hit by US projectiles early on Tuesday, Fars news agency reported, citing a provincial security official, adding that four people were wounded and rescue operations were underway.

Iran’s state TV cited the Iranian army as saying that it targeted a “hostile” US vessel with cruise missiles and US facilities and equipment in Kuwait with drones. Iranian media also said the Revolutionary Guards shot down a US MQ-1 drone over Hormuz, while sirens sounded early on Tuesday in Bahrain - home to another U.S. military base.

The incidents, which followed earlier exchanges of missile and drone attacks, extended the hostilities that followed Iran’s announcement at the weekend that it was closing the vital waterway, casting further doubt on an interim deal to halt the war and driving oil prices higher.

The UN’s shipping agency pushed back against Trump’s proposal, saying it opposes any fees for straits used in international navigation and stressing that there is no legal basis for introducing mandatory tolls on strait transits.

Trump has previously suggested the US could charge tolls on shipping through the strait, but has not done so and it remained unclear whether he would follow through this time.

The US Navy-led Joint Maritime Information Center said the blockade would take effect at 2000 GMT on Tuesday (4 am on Wednesday in Singapore) and apply to all vessel traffic regardless of flag, covering the entire Iranian coastline, including ports and oil terminals.

It said the measure would not impede neutral transit passage through the strait to or from non-Iranian destinations, and that humanitarian shipments would be permitted subject to inspection.

Before the conflict began in February, around a fifth of the world’s oil and gas traffic passed through Hormuz daily, delivering more than 15 million barrels of fuel to global markets worth at least US$1.2 billion. If the US were to impose a 20 per cent fee, it could generate around US$250 million a day.

Thousands of people have been killed in the war, mainly in Iran and Lebanon. The conflict, launched by the US and Israel, has also destabilised the Gulf and spread across the region, with Iran attacking US bases in multiple countries.

Oil prices up

Oil prices jumped more than 9 per cent on Monday, with Brent futures posting their biggest single-day dollar gain since Apr 2, and highest settlement since Jun 12. US crude futures made their largest daily gain since Apr 29 to settle at their highest since Jun 15.

Higher energy prices, particularly gasoline costs, are politically sensitive for Trump before midterm elections in November that will determine whether his Republican Party retains control of Congress.

US officials said around 20 vessels had been escorted through the strait in the previous 24 hours, although ship-tracking data showed little traffic moving. MarineTraffic said on Monday that vessel activity through the strait declined by about 52 per cent over Jul 10 to 12 compared to the previous week. REUTERS