The blockade came back into force at 2000 GMT on Tuesday. President Donald Trump had reimposed it earlier in the day on vessels moving to and from all Iranian ports and coastal areas, a measure that had been lifted in June. Reuters reported that he also threatened to hit power plants and bridges the following week “unless they get to the table and negotiate.”
“I’ll save the energy targets for last, but ultimately we’ll hit energy targets,” Trump told Fox News’ Trey Yingst. He said U.S. negotiators had been in touch with Iranian counterparts to tell them “you better make a deal.” Reuters noted that the 1949 Geneva Conventions prohibit attacks on sites considered essential for civilians.
Strikes and counterstrikes
The U.S. military said it had started a fresh round of strikes “to continue degrading Iranian capabilities used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.” Iranian officials said American projectiles hit a location around Bandar Abbas and an area near Sirik, and Qeshm Island’s governor’s office reported a strike at about 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Iran said it had again closed the strait after hostilities reignited the previous week. That frayed a truce reached in June, after several months of fighting that has killed thousands. Iran’s army said early Wednesday that it had launched drone attacks on U.S. positions at Jordan’s Azraq base, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it targeted weapons and storage facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait. Kuwait’s army said its air defenses were facing Iranian drones. There was no immediate Pentagon comment, and Reuters could not verify the reports.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi was dismissive on state television. “If the U.S. thinks that by tightening its measures against us, its military actions and its economic blockade, we will return to negotiations, it is making a mistake,” he said.
Ships and crews
Washington said late Tuesday that Iran had attacked seven commercial ships in the past week, leaving nearly a dozen crew members killed, missing or injured. The United Arab Emirates said one Indian crew member died and eight were wounded when Iranian cruise missiles hit two Emirati oil tankers. The Guard said it disabled two “offending” supertankers that ignored warnings, without naming them.
Trump said the strait was open to all shipping except Iran’s. The U.S. military put more than 20 Navy warships and hundreds of aircraft in the region.
One idea did not survive the week. On Monday Trump floated a 20% fee on shipping through the strait, which drew sharp criticism from the U.N. shipping agency and others. On Tuesday he dropped it, saying without detail that he would seek investment deals with Gulf states. Reuters said it was not clear what, if anything, those states had agreed to.
Oil and politics
Before the war began in February, about a fifth of global oil and gas shipments passed through the strait each day. Brent crude has risen 15% in seven days to $85 a barrel, the highest since mid-June. The International Monetary Fund warned last month that dragging the war past mid-July would bring big risks, especially as countries have largely used up strategic oil reserves.
At home the conflict is unpopular. Gasoline prices have climbed, congressional elections are due in November, and half of those in a Reuters poll said the war had not been worth its costs.
Washington says Iran must never have a nuclear weapon, which Tehran denies seeking. Iran wants sanctions lifted and other nations to recognize its control over the strait.
