UNITED STATES launched a fresh wave of strikes on Iran on Tuesday, while president Donald Trump said Washington would reimpose a naval blockade on Iranian ports and charge cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran responded with attacks across the region, including on two commercial vessels in the strategic waterway, killing one crew member, according to the United Arab Emirates.
The renewed fighting has raised concerns over efforts to end the conflict, even as Trump said a deal with Iran remained possible. The latest US attacks since last week have killed at least 28 people in Iran, according to an AFP tally based on Iranian media and official announcements.
India also summoned Iran's senior diplomat in New Delhi on Tuesday to protest after attacks on two commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz killed an Indian seafarer and injured several others.
The US military said its five-hour operation struck targets across Iran, including Bushehr and Bandar Abbas, to "degrade Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping".
After the strikes, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they fired missiles and drones at Bahrain, targeting a residential building housing US forces and other facilities. Bahrain later said it had intercepted "several treacherous aerial attacks launched by Iran" and accused Tehran of targeting civilians after explosions and sirens were heard in Manama.
UK maritime security agency UKMTO also reported on Tuesday that another tanker was struck by a missile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz near Oman's coast.
Iran began blocking the Strait of Hormuz after US-Israel attacks in February, prompting Washington to impose a blockade on Iranian ports. Restrictions were eased after both sides agreed a preliminary deal in June, but Trump's latest announcement has again put that arrangement in doubt.
Trump said on Monday that the United States was "taking over" the strait and would impose a levy of 20 per cent on all cargo shipped through it. The announcement drew mockery from Iran and accusations of "piracy".
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Iranian ports on the waterway would be blockaded from 2000 GMT on Tuesday.
Oil prices rose more than nine per cent on Monday over concerns about renewed conflict and increased by more than one per cent again on Tuesday.
Iran also launched attacks on other US allies in the region, including Jordan, which said it had shot down four Iranian missiles.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said their strikes targeted US forces at an air base and urged Jordanians to issue a "serious demand for the removal of the occupying American bases from the region".
Iran has said it only targets US interests in the Gulf, but a military command spokesman warned that any collaboration by Gulf countries with the United States would be considered "an act of war".
The White House confirmed to AFP that Trump had formally notified Congress last week that the United States had resumed military conflict against Iran, giving the Pentagon an additional 60 days to operate in the region without congressional approval.
Trump also threatened to destroy Pickaxe Mountain, a deeply buried nuclear site near Natanz where Western intelligence suspects Iran is building an undeclared enrichment facility.
"Tell the Iranians to be ready. Let them know we're coming (and) there's not a damn thing they can do about it," he told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt.
On Truth Social, Trump said the United States would be "known as 'THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT'" and would impose a 20 per cent fee on all cargo shipped through the waterway.
He said Iranian ports would again be blockaded, while "all other countries will have fair and open use of the strait".
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi responded on X that Trump was "absolutely right" that whoever guarantees safe passage should be compensated, but added that Tehran would charge less, saying "20% is of course too much".
Iran's parliament has also started work on a bill on "the management of the Strait of Hormuz", the head of the security committee said on Tuesday.
Washington has opposed Tehran's proposal to charge tolls in the strait, which international law generally forbids.
Despite the renewed fighting, Trump said on Monday that a deal with Tehran to end the war was still possible.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the June memorandum of understanding that formed the basis of negotiations was "in crisis".
Baqaei said Iran would ignore its obligations under the deal if Washington did the same, but added that Tehran was continuing talks with mediators from Qatar, Pakistan and Oman to prevent further escalation.
Bader Al-Saif, an associate fellow at Chatham House, said the escalating attacks would delay a permanent agreement.
"Both sides want to end the impasse on their own terms, and they are increasingly finding it difficult to do so," he said.
India's foreign ministry said it had summoned the deputy chief of mission of the Iranian embassy in New Delhi to register "a strong protest" over the attacks on the two commercial vessels.
The ministry said the vessels, MT Al Bahiyah and MT Mombasa, had a total of 46 crew members, including 30 Indians. One Indian "has tragically lost his life".
"India is deeply concerned by the attacks on two vessels, MT Al Bahiyah and MT Mombasa, during their transit through the Strait of Hormuz today," the ministry said.
The Iranian embassy declined to comment when contacted by AFP.
India and Iran have longstanding cultural and trade ties while maintaining diplomatic relations despite wider geopolitical tensions.
The attacks came after the United States launched its latest strikes on Iran, marking another escalation in the conflict.
India is one of the world's largest suppliers of merchant sailors, with more than 320,000 active seafarers in 2025, according to its shipping ministry.
The foreign ministry also called for an immediate end to the violence and a return to dialogue and diplomacy "in keeping with international law".
Another commercial vessel carrying 11 Indians was attacked off the coast of Oman on Sunday. Ten Indians were rescued, while one remains missing.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world's oil passed before the war began on February 28, remains a key point of tension between the United States and Iran.
Separately, Iran criticised Britain's plan to ban support for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, along with an Iran-linked group accused of carrying out a series of attacks against the Jewish community.
The Iranian foreign ministry said it "condemns the hostile act of the British government... as unjustified, irresponsible and contrary to the fundamental principles and rules of international law".
