US launches third night of strikes on Iran; IRGC targets American assets in Bahrain and Jordan

The United States launched another wave of strikes on Iran for the third consecutive day early on Tuesday after President Donald Trump announced the reimposition of a blockade on Iranian ports and floated a 20 per cent fee on cargo in the vital Strait of Hormuz. Trump said a deal with Iran was still possible even as attacks were carried out, with Tehran striking two ships in the Strait of Hormuz and killing one crew member, according to the United Arab Emirates. Meanwhile, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said two offending supertankers were hit and disabled in the Strait of Hormuz after they ignored warnings, turned off navigation systems, and tried to pass through a mined route. The Guards accused the US of inciting vessels to use an illegal route and warned that cooperation with the aggressor enemy would result in damage, delays in reopening the strait, and a global energy crisis.

The US military stated that its latest five-hour mission hit targets across Iran, including in coastal Bushehr and Bandar Abbas, to degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping. Centcom forces employed precision munitions against Iranian coastal defence systems, missile and drone sites, and maritime capabilities. More than 50,000 US service members are currently deployed across the Middle East. After the strikes, the IRGC announced it had fired missiles and drones on Bahrain, targeting a residential building for US forces, weapons warehouses, a satellite communications centre, and a US forces’ housing building at Bahrain’s Juffair base. The IRGC also claimed its attacks destroyed the air control radar of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, as well as a Patriot radar and an early warning C-RAM radar system, along with fuel storage tanks and the control centre for unmanned boats.

Meanwhile, Jordanian state media reported that the country had intercepted and downed four missiles that entered Jordanian airspace from Iranian territory. Later, the IRGC stated that an air base in Jordan hosting US forces was targeted by ballistic missiles, and they called on the Jordanian people to dismantle American bases in their country. The statement added that Iran loves the noble people of Jordan and has no enmity with their country, though its military command spokesman warned that any collaboration by Gulf countries with the United States would be considered an act of war.

Trump’s declaration on the Hormuz blockade followed US and Iranian attacks of a scale unseen since an April ceasefire, raising doubts about efforts to bring a permanent end to the war. Tehran had started blocking the strait after the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran in late February, starting a war that had been paused under a fragile ceasefire until recently. Restrictions had eased after the US and Iran agreed on a preliminary deal in June, but Trump announced on Truth Social that the United States would take over the strait and levy a 20 per cent fee on all cargo shipped through it. Centcom said Iran’s ports on the waterway would be blockaded from Tuesday evening, prompting a mocking response from Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who noted that while safe passage should be compensated, 20 per cent was too much and Tehran would charge less.

Trump formally notified Congress last week that the United States had resumed military conflict against Iran, giving the Pentagon an additional 60 days to operate without congressional approval. The US president also threatened to destroy Pickaxe Mountain, a deeply buried nuclear site near Natanz. Despite the escalating situation, Trump maintained that a deal with Tehran was still possible, though Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the June memorandum of understanding that formed the basis for negotiations was in crisis. Baqaei added that Iran would ignore its obligations if Washington did the same, though Tehran continues talks with mediators from Qatar, Pakistan, and Oman. Analysts suggest that the return to increased attacks reflects the difficulty both sides face in ending the impasse on their own terms.