Iran-US war latest: Tehran attacks US military bases as Strait of Hormuz standoff escalates

The US military yesterday said it hit some 140 targets, including missile and drone launch sites, ammunition dumps, communication equipment and other sites — a far-heavier set of attacks than in two previous rounds of strikes in the last week.

“We bombed the hell out of them last night,” US president Donald Trump told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Iran retaliated by attacking nations in the region hosting US military forces, while insisting it alone must control the strait and potentially charge vessels for traveling through it.

“The era of one-sided deals is OVER,” Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s Parliament and a main negotiator, wrote. “We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking.”

Iran described the strait as being closed, while the US military and Trump asserted that the strait remained open.

Iran’s chokehold on the strait, however, has loosened as the US military provided support to vessels moving along a southern route hugging the coastline of Oman.

That new route has angered Iran, which launched repeated attacks on ships using it.

Iran’s grip on the strait led to a global energy crisis, though oil prices have sharply dropped since wartime highs of $120 a barrel.

Bahrain sounds its missile alert siren for the third time as Iran retaliates over US strikes.

Earlier, Iran’s IRGC said it targeted US military facilities in Bahrain and destroyed radar systems in Oman in latest retaliatory attacks.

Donald Trump has called Iran “evil and sick” after claiming it broke an agreed peace deal yesterday when it fired a drone at a ship.

Speaking to NBC’s Meet the Press, Trump said: “They agreed to a deal yesterday – a perfect deal for us, no nuclear, no this, no that, no nothing, they gave up everything – and then after that, they left the room, and then within an hour they launched a drone at a ship.”

“We bombed the hell out of them last night. They are very, very evil and sick people,” he added.

The number of vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz fell to multi-week lows on Sunday, shipping data showed, as renewed strikes between the US and Iran and attacks on ships in the Middle East heightened safety concerns.

Six vessels transited the strait on Sunday, ship-tracking data from Kpler showed, the lowest number in five weeks.

Tankers that exited the strait included the Very Large Crude Carrier Humanity, laden with 2 million barrels of Iranian oil and another tanker, Capetan Andreas, carrying about 500,000 barrels of Kuwaiti oil products, the data showed, while three empty tankers entered the Gulf to load oil.

Most of the tankers switched off their transponders when crossing the strait. There were no liquefied natural gas tankers that entered ‌the strait over the weekend that were ‌visible on ship-tracking data.

One tanker controlled by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co exited the strait between 10 July and 12 July, Kpler data showed.

The vessel is heading for Dahej port in India.

US forces completed another wave of strikes against Iran on Sunday, hitting dozens of targets at multiple locations with precision munitions, the Central Command said.

US president Donald Trump said on Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz is ‌open to commercial traffic, although Iran declared earlier that ​it closed the strait after a vessel ‌travelled on an unapproved route ⁠and was struck.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Monday ⁠that its navy stopped two ships in the Strait of Hormuz last ‌night by ​shutting down their systems. It did ‌not name the ships ​involved.

The Jordanian military said it has intercepted and shot down at least four missiles that entered its airspace from Iran, reported state news agency.

The United States and Iran each asserted today that they controlled the Strait of Hormuz after a weekend of attacks stretching across the wider Middle East, further threatening any diplomacy to end the war.

The US military’s Central Command described its forces as hitting dozens of sites in the strikes today, including air defence systems, radar sites, missile and drone equipment and small boats.

“The Strait of Hormuz is a vital maritime corridor for global trade,” Central Command said.

“Iran does not control it.”

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, a key power center in the country’s theocracy that controls its ballistic missile arsenal, sharply rejected America’s statement.

“The Strait of Hormuz is our territory, and we will not allow a rogue and child-killing army from the other side of the world to continue its illegal interference in it,” the Guard said.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have said they have attacked Gulf states overnight and targeted US military bases.

Missile alert sirens sounded at dawn Monday in Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet. There was no immediate word on damage.

The IRGC said it hit the US base at Sheikh Isa in Bahrain in its second phase of retaliatory strikes.

It added that it fired missiles and drones at fuel tanks and ammunition depots, setting them on fire at Prince Hassan Air Base in Jordan.

The strikes were the first phase of response to the US attacks on Iranian coastal bases, the IRGC said.

Share markets slid in Asia this morning as fighting intensified in the Gulf and Iran claimed to have closed the vital Strait of Hormuz, sending oil prices surging and rekindling inflation risks globally.

The dollar rose with bond yields as investors narrowed the odds of a hike in interest rates from the Federal Reserve, just a day before Chair Kevin Warsh is due to face Congress for the first time in his new role.

Inflation figures for June on Tuesday could show some cooling in the headline rate of 4.2 per cent as petrol prices decline, though some of that will reverse now that oil is rising anew.

Brent crude climbed 4.1 per cent to reach $79.11 a barrel, up from the recent trough of $70.14, while US crude added 4.1 per cent to $74.37 a barrel.

US officials said around 20 vessels had been ​escorted through ⁠the strait in the previous 24 hours, though ship tracking sites showed little traffic moving.

Equity investors will be hoping the earnings season proves as upbeat as forecast with the major banks kicking off from Tuesday, while Netflix and General Electric are also on the docket.

“Tech continues to screen highly in our models, supported by stand out earnings growth/momentum and attractive valuations,” wrote analysts at Citi in ​a note.

“While AI volatility may remain elevated over the coming quarter, we maintain our Overweight stance on global IT and the US,” they added.

S&P 500 futures eased 0.4 per cent, while Nasdaq futures lost 0.9 per cent.

In Europe, EUROSTOXX 50 futures and DAX futures both fell 0.6 per cent, while FTSE futures dipped 0.1 per cent.

Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.6 per cent, having shed 1.7 per cent last week, while MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 0.9 per cent.

The US military said today it ended its latest wave of strikes targeting Iran, insisting that Tehran does not control the Strait of Hormuz.

The US military’s Central Command said in a statement that it hit air defence systems, radar sites, missile and drone equipment and small boats.

Central Command said it used fighter jets, ships, aerial drones and naval drones for the first time.

“The Strait of Hormuz is a vital maritime corridor for global trade,” Central Command said.

“Iran does not control it.”

It added: “US forces are postured and prepared to ensure that freedom of navigation remains available to commercial shipping despite Iran’s continued unwarranted aggression, harassment, threats and arbitrary declarations.”