The United States and Iran exchanged heavy missile and drone assaults on Sunday as Tehran said it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz, in an escalation that spread to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates and cast further doubt on the future of the interim peace agreement signed last month.
“We’re beating them up,” President Donald Trump told Reuters in a brief phone interview on Sunday afternoon.
US Central Command said it began launching fresh strikes against Iran at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday “to continue degrading their ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the Strait of Hormuz.” A CENTCOM spokesperson told CNN that US aircraft had shot down an Iranian cruise missile and a one-way attack drone. Iranian media reported missile attacks and explosions around the port cities of Sirik and Bandar Abbas and nearby Qeshm Island.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had struck a command-and-control centre and drone hangars in Jordan, targeted a radar site and rocket launcher systems in Kuwait, attacked US aircraft carrier support and refuelling platforms in Oman and destroyed a jet maintenance centre and command facility in Qatar. Qatar, which had not come under attack since April and had been serving as a ceasefire mediator, said three people including a child were injured by falling shrapnel and held Iran “fully legally responsible.” The UAE, which had not been targeted since early May, said its air defences had engaged Iranian missiles and drones.
Bahrain intercepted several Iranian aerial attacks, Jordan reported missile strikes, Oman reported drone attacks and Kuwait’s army reported damage from strikes, including an attack on an oil drilling platform that injured a worker. Oman summoned Iran’s ambassador to protest over the attacks.
HORMUZ CLOSED, SHIPPING IN DANGER
Iran’s newly created Persian Gulf Strait Authority said passage through the strait was not currently possible due to “recent illegal movements of the United States military forces in the region,” adding that permits would be issued “as soon as stability and calm are restored.”
Iran said late on Saturday it had closed the waterway after firing a warning shot that struck a vessel travelling on an unauthorised route. On Sunday it said it had disabled a second vessel. India said one of its nationals was missing after an attack on the container ship GFS Galaxy off the coast of Oman. Oman said 23 crew members had been rescued. Qatar advised all vessels, including leisure boats, fishing boats and jet skis, to suspend all activities.
The US said Iran did not control the strait and that “traffic is flowing,” while the US Navy-led Joint Maritime Information Center said an expanded southern route near Oman remained available for two-way traffic despite a severe security threat.
Iran’s foreign ministry condemned what it described as “aggressive” US attacks and said talks between Iran and Oman on Saturday in Muscat — focused on managing the strait and transit routes — had failed to reach a result because of “overt and covert” US pressure on Oman.
INTERIM DEAL IN DOUBT
The barrage marked a significant escalation in pace and range from recent exchanges, further undermining the interim memorandum of understanding signed last month that aimed to reopen the strait and end the war after 60 days of negotiations. In the past week, Trump has said he considers the ceasefire over while leaving the door open to further talks.
US Central Command said its forces had struck 140 Iranian military targets on Saturday alone, with more than 300 targeted over three nights to degrade Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping. The US also revoked the licence authorising the sale of Iranian crude on Tuesday following earlier attacks on shipping.
Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, was defiant. “The era of one-sided deals is OVER. We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking,” he wrote on X.
The war began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran on 28 February. Iran’s effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies passed before the conflict, has driven up energy prices and fuelled global inflation — a politically sensitive issue for Trump ahead of November’s congressional elections.
(Reuters)