Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said two oil tankers exploded and were immobilised in the southern part of the strait after being encouraged by the US military to use what the Guard called an unsafe route.
The US struck Iran for a ninth straight night early Monday, hours after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said two oil tankers had exploded and been left unable to move after attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz. American deaths in the renewed fighting have now reached 17, and oil prices have jumped as fears grow over the fate of one of the world’s most important shipping routes.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said two oil tankers exploded and were immobilised in the southern part of the strait after being encouraged by the US military to use what the Guard called an unsafe route.
Reuters could not immediately verify the claim, and the Guard gave no details on the vessels’ names, flags, crews, or any casualties. The Guard warned the waterway would remain unsafe as long as what it called US “aggression” continues, saying not even “a single drop of oil and gas” would pass through safely, and told the US military to prepare for a “punitive operation”.
Meanwhile, the British military reported a ship on fire near Oman’s coast early Monday, though the cause was unclear.
WHY DID THE US STRIKE AGAIN
US Central Command said it launched a fresh wave of strikes early Monday, the ninth in a row, aimed at continuing to weaken Iran’s ability to threaten commercial vessels and civilian sailors passing through the strait.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported missile strikes on several Iranian cities, including Tabriz, Chabahar, Konarak, Bandar Mahshahr, and Bandar Imam Khomeini. Trump told reporters, “We hit them very hard again tonight,” saying it was done in honour of the American troops killed since Friday.
HOW HIGH HAS THE AMERICAN DEATH TOLL CLIMBED
A US service member was killed in Iraq on Saturday during a controlled detonation of an unexploded Iranian drone. That followed the deaths of two more troops in a Friday attack on a US base in Jordan, where a third remains missing; Central Command said unidentified remains were found at the site on Sunday and are still being examined.
The total number of American service members killed since the war began now stands at 17, with more than 420 wounded.
HOW FAR HAS IRAN’S RETALIATION SPREAD?
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it also struck a US special operations post in Syria’s Al-Tanf area, and earlier carried out a drone attack on US assets at Kuwait’s Al-Adiri camp and Ali Al Salem Air Base. Kuwait said one of its desalination plants was hit for a second consecutive day, sparking a fire, though officials said the power grid remains stable.
Jordan shot down several incoming Iranian missiles, and Israel warned that missiles fired towards Jordan’s port city of Aqaba could spill into Israeli territory for the first time in weeks. The US Embassy in Bahrain separately warned that Iran may be planning to target locations in central Manama.
Iran’s atomic energy agency said US strikes hit the construction site of a planned nuclear power plant in the country’s southwest. Satellite images reviewed by AP showed only early-stage clearing work at the site as of July 9, and the International Atomic Energy Agency said the facility held no nuclear material when it was last inspected. Iranian authorities say at least 50 people have been killed and more than 500 wounded in the latest round of US strikes.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR OIL AND SHIPPING
Brent crude rose above $90 a barrel on Monday, its highest level since mid-June, as concerns grow over the roughly one-fifth of global oil supply that normally moves through the strait.
The US has reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports, saying it has redirected six ships and disabled one over the past week. The conflict comes at the halfway point of a 60-day window that had been set to negotiate a permanent end to the war and resolve Iran’s nuclear programme.
(With inputs from AP and Reuters)
