CENTCOM had earlier said it had carried out a third night of strikes with the same objective, and on Tuesday Iran’s state media reported explosions in several cities, including Bushehr – home to a nuclear power plant.
Tehran said it had targeted US military facilities in Bahrain and Jordan after earlier targeting two UAE tankers.
The ongoing attacks have underlined the strategic importance of the strait. Iran has accused the US of interfering in the management of the Strait of Hormuz – but controlling it means Tehran could also put the global economy at risk.
Trump announced on Monday that the US is now the “custodian” of the Strait of Hormuz, and vowed to impose a 20% tariff on all cargo shipped through the waterway to pay for its security.
Raising the stakes further, Trump said the US would also reimpose its naval blockade on Iran to further hit the country’s struggling economy.
In his latest post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “I have decided to replace the 20% United States reparations fee with trade and investment deals that various Gulf states will make to the United States.
“Those investments will be massive, but at the same time, exceptionally good for them and their future.” The US President did not provide any further details.
He also said that the strait is “open to all ship traffic except Iran” and that “oil has flowed like never before because of the amazing power of the United States military”.
Speaking later in Washington after talks with new Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, Trump said: “I don’t like the concept of tariffs, but at the same time, it’s not fair that we’re protecting this strait for the entire world.”
He said he changed his initial fee plan after receiving several calls from Gulf leaders.
In response to Trump’s announcement, Iran said that it will remain in control of the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Trump’s decision to impose the blockade “kind of destroys” the previously agreed ceasefire agreement, news agency AFP reported.
The US first imposed a naval blockade on all Iranian ports in April to put pressure on Tehran. About five weeks later, the US military said it had redirected 100 commercial ships under the blockade and disabled four.
The US lifted the blockade in June as part of an agreement between the two countries – known as a memorandum of understanding – aimed at ending the conflict, but the dispute over the strait has become a major point of contention.
Meanwhile, shipping data shows traffic through the strait has slowed to a two-month low. The price of benchmark Brent crude oil has also increased rapidly.
Iran effectively closed the waterway – through which about 25% of the world’s oil and 20% of global liquefied natural gas passes – after the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28.
In a separate development on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that his country’s retaliation against Iran would be “much more powerful” if it was attacked first.
“I would say to Iran’s leaders: Don’t count on things to remain calm if you attack us,” he said in a video published on his social media.
