US forces have carried out a series of “powerful strikes” against Iran in retaliation for the targeting of tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
The attacks came just hours after Washington also pulled Tehran’s license to sell oil, which was only issued last month following an interim ceasefire deal.
The strategic waterway remains a flashpoint in the fragile truce, having sparked a previous exchange of fire between the two sides after a cargo ship was struck, threatening the agreement aimed at ending the war.
In a statement on X, the American military said: “US Central Command forces have begun launching a series of powerful strikes against Iran to impose heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping crewed by innocent civilians in an international waterway.
“The US strikes are in response to Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels that were transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s demonstrated aggression was unwarranted, dangerous, and a clear violation of the ceasefire.”
Three civilian vessels were hit in the strait on Tuesday – the most in a single day since late April, according to UN International Maritime Organisation figures.
In response, maritime authorities have raised the threat level from “substantial” to “severe”.
The renewed hostilities threaten to again disrupt shipping transiting the Gulf channel and cause difficulties in securing a permanent end to the conflict, launched by the US and Israel on February 28.
Donald Trump has said the US would either reach a deal with Tehran or “finish the job”.
Meanwhile, tensions have been running high in Iran with the holding of funeral ceremonies for the former supreme leader, former Iranian Supreme Leader, the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening attack of the war.
Ending Tehran’s stranglehold on the strait, which disrupted global oil and gas supplies and drove up fuel and food prices, had been a key demand in previous negotiations.
However, the initial deal reached between the US and Iran – known as the Islamabad memorandum of understanding – only secures safe, toll-free passage of the waterway for 60 days, pending the outcome of a final agreement on Tehran’s disputed nuclear plans.
The pact also leaves it to Iran and Oman, in conjunction with other Gulf states, to “define the future administration and maritime services in the Strait of Hormuz”.
In the meantime, Iran has continued to try and exert leverage over the channel, including demanding ships seek permission to transit and raising the spectre of future charges.
This has included claims by Tehran that only it is permitted to carry out mine clearance in the strait under the terms of the interim agreement, after Oman agreed to work with Britain and France to make sure the sea route remained open.
The two allies have been at the forefront of a proposed international mission to protect and reassure vessels using the waterway once hostilities are over.
But Iran warned that the involvement of any other country in the channel would amount to a provocation.
A joint statement issued by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron last Friday said: “The Strait of Hormuz is a vital artery for the global economy. Restoring safe transit for ships of all nations through the Strait is a matter of global concern.
“The Sultanate of Oman has agreed to work with the United Kingdom and France to ensure that its sovereign territorial waters are safe for navigation.
“The UK and France also stand ready to deploy the wider multinational military mission to support freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”
The two leaders added: “The United Kingdom and France reaffirm their shared commitment to regional stability, respect for the sovereignty of all states, and their willingness to maintain close co-operation with their partners in order to uphold global security, freedom of navigation and international law.”
