US-Iran war flares as Hormuz dispute deepens

DUBAI: US and Iranian forces ​exchanged missile and drone attacks on Monday and clashed over control of the Strait of Hormuz, casting doubt on the viability of an interim deal to halt their war and driving oil prices higher. After Iran's announcement of the strait's closure over the weekend, US President Donald Trump said on Monday the United States would probably take over the waterway and should be reimbursed for controlling the vital shipping route. Iran's top joint military command swiftly rejected Trump's remarks, saying the United States had no role in determining the future of the strait.
The Revolutionary Guards said on Monday they had targeted US military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait, and hit fuel tanks and ammunition depots at Prince Hassan Air Base in Jordan in response to ⁠US strikes. The US military said it had struck Iranian air defence systems, coastal radar sites, missile and drone capabilities and small boats on Sunday, using aircraft, naval vessels and drones.
On Monday, ⁠the US attacked military sites in southern parts of Iran, including Qeshm, Bandar Abbas and Abadan, Iran's official news agency IRNA said, citing a local official. Bahrain said its air defence systems had destroyed several Iranian missiles and drones early on Monday. The latest exchanges mark an escalation in both the pace and geographic reach of attacks over the past week, throwing into question an interim US-Iranian agreement signed last month to reopen the strait and halt hostilities while the sides pursued ‌a further 60 days of negotiations.
Trump has said he considers the ceasefire over, while leaving the door open to ​further talks. 'We had a deal. It was a ⁠done deal, and then they broke it. They always break it. We've had 10 deals with these people, and so we're just going to hit them very ​hard,' he said in a phone interview on Fox News' 'Fox & Friends' ‌programme on Monday. Iran's top negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, struck a similarly defiant tone, posting on X on Sunday: 'The era of one-sided deals is OVER. We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking.'
The war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran on February 28 has destabilised the ​Gulf and spread across the region, with Iran attacking US bases in multiple countries.
Control of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global oil supplies, has become one of the main battlegrounds of the conflict. Iran's effective blockade of the strait has pushed up energy prices and increased concerns about inflation globally. Brent crude jumped by more than 3% on Monday on fears of disruption to one of the world's most important energy shipping routes, although prices ‌remained below the peaks reached earlier in the conflict. Higher energy prices, particularly gasoline costs, are politically sensitive for Trump before congressional elections in November.
After announcing the strait's closure on Saturday following what it described as ​an unauthorised transit, Tehran said on Sunday that passage remained suspended. Trump said on Monday that the US would control the strait. 'We'll become the guardian of the strait. Maybe we'll call it the guardian angel ​of the strait. And ‌we should ⁠be reimbursed for that,' he said in the Fox News phone interview. A spokesperson for the Revolutionary Guards responded defiantly. 'We continue to assert our authority and control over the Strait of Hormuz with strength and power, and we will force foreigners and their allies to surrender to the will of the Iranian people,' Hossein Mohebbi said in comments carried by state media.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said ​in a statement on Monday that the only way to restore regular shipping traffic through the strait was to end US military interventions in the waterway, and warned that 'continued interference could lead to greater incidents in the global oil and gas sector.' Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Iran was seeking to establish a mechanism to manage traffic through the strait, adding that US pressure on Oman had hindered discussions.
Iran has sought to establish a permanent fee and permit system for vessels using the waterway, which before the war carried about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments. The US, which revoked a licence ​waiving sanctions on Iranian crude sales last week after earlier attacks on shipping, said its forces were positioned to safeguard freedom of navigation. 'Iran does not control the strait. Traffic is flowing,' ​it said. — Reuters