US launches new strikes on Iran following Trump’s threat amid fresh clashes over strait of Hormuz – Middle East crisis live

Donald ⁠Trump ​has said ⁠in ⁠an ​interview ‌with ‌Hugh ‌Hewitt that Iran ‌would be hit hard ​Monday ⁠and ​Tuesday.

I’ll bring you more lines from the interview as I get them.

Haroon Janjua

Fatemeh Aman, an Iran expert and a former non-resident fellow at the Middle East Institute and a former senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, has told the Guardian:

The UK’s decision to designate IRGC as a terrorist organization reflects a broader reassessment of Iran policy rather than a single triggering event. For years, British authorities have expressed concern about alleged IRGC-linked activities beyond Iran’s borders. These concerns include support for regional armed groups, intelligence operations, and what London has described as hostile activities targeting individuals in the UK. The designation signals that the British government increasingly views these activities as posing a direct national security concern rather than solely a foreign policy challenge.

At the same time, the move is likely to further strain an already fragile relationship between London and Tehran. Iran considers the IRGC an official branch of its armed forces, and it has consistently rejected efforts by Western governments to treat it as a terrorist organization. This designation will make diplomatic engagement more difficult, particularly on issues such as Iran’s nuclear program, regional security, detainees, and sanctions. It also raises legal and practical questions about future contacts involving Iranian state institutions in which the IRGC has a role.

Whether the designation changes the IRGC’s behavior is not certain. Organizations like the IRGC are generally driven by strategic and ideological considerations rather than reputational costs. The more immediate impact is likely to be legal and financial, giving British authorities broader powers to investigate, prosecute, and disrupt activities linked to the organization within the UK. In that sense, the decision is best understood as a domestic security measure with significant foreign policy consequences.

Fishermen’s comments

“For us, Hormuz is not a headline or a battlefield. It is where we earn our bread. When warships move and missiles fly, our boats stay tied and our families go hungry,” said Ahmed, a 52-year-old fisherman near the strait of Hormuz.

“The sea has become frightening. Earlier, we used to watch the weather before going out for fishing. Now we watch the news, the ships, and the sky,” said Khalid, another fisherman working near Bandar Abbas.

“If the strait closes, it will not only hurt oil companies. It will hurt small fishermen, port workers, drivers, and families who live from the sea every day,” remarked Ahmed, who has been fishing near Hormuz Island for three decades.

“Our fathers and grandfathers fished these waters long before the world called the Strait of Hormuz a strategic chokepoint. For us, it has always been our workplace, not a battlefield,” says Khalid.

For Khalid, when naval vessels and military aircraft fill the horizon, we stay closer to shore. The fish are farther out, but so is the danger.” “The sea doesn’t care about politics, but fishermen end up paying the price for every confrontation. We don’t follow the movement of oil tankers; we follow the movement of fish. Yet every regional crisis affects our nets, our income, and our families.”

“Some days we return with empty boats because we are afraid to venture into our usual fishing grounds. Fear has become as common as the tide,” he said.

Donald Trump has said he will make a primetime address to the nation on Thursday, in an announcement that comes amid a major flare-up of hostilities with Iran.

“President Trump will be making a Speech to the Nation on Thursday evening, at 9 P.M. Eastern (0100 GMT Friday). Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump said in a post Monday on his Truth Social network.

The US military is preparing to restart blockading ships heading to Iranian ports, US Central Command has said, after Trump’s announcement.

Centcom said in a post on X:

At the Commander in Chief’s direction, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces will resume blockading maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports on July 14 at 4 p.m. ET.

CENTCOM forces will enforce the blockade against vessels transiting to or from Iranian ports and coastal areas. The U.S. military continues to support traffic flow through regional waters for all vessels not violating the blockade.

The resumption of the U.S. blockade against Iran follows the initial implementation from April 13 to June 18. CENTCOM forces redirected more than 140 compliant vessels, disabled nine non-compliant ships, and allowed over 50 commercial vessels supporting humanitarian aid to pass through the blockade during the two-month period.

All mariners are advised to monitor Notice to Mariners broadcasts and contact U.S. naval forces on bridge-to-bridge channel 16 when operating in the Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz approaches.

Additional information will be provided to commercial mariners through a formal notice.

Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday mocked Donald Trump over his vow to impose hefty charges on all cargo shipped through the strait of Hormuz, saying Iran would charge a lower rate.

“POTUS is absolutely right. Whoever provides secure and safe passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz should be compensated for this service. Iran has always been the GUARDIAN of the Strait and will remain so FOREVER. 20% is of course too much. We will be fair,” Tehran’s top diplomat wrote, in a social media post.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has said that passage through the strait of Hormuz “should remain free of any tolls and charges, in accordance with international law”.

It comes shortly after Donald Trump’s announcement that he would reinstate a US blockade of Iranian ships in the strait andlevy a 20% fee “for any and all costs necessary” to provide security and safety for ships transiting through the critical waterway.

“The right of transit passage through straits used for international navigation should not be threatened, impeded, denied, hampered, impaired or suspended,” said IMO Council, the IMO’s executive body. There are 40 member nations including the United States.

“Any measures taken by coastal States to regulate traffic in vital shipping lanes should be done with accordance with IMO regulations under the International Convention on the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS),” it added.

The IMO reaffirmed its commitment to protecting vital shipping lanes, defending freedom of navigation, upholding international law and ensuring the safety of seafarers.

It also condemned attacks on civilian commercial ships in and around the strait and called for de-escalation of tensions in the region.

Iran, meanwhile, has condemned the attack on the airport in Yemeni capital Sanaa, after Yemen’s internationally-recognised government said it struck the facility following a dispute over an Iranian plane carrying a Houthi delegation.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei described the attack “as a clear violation of international law and the United Nations Charter, as well as an affront to Yemen’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” state news agency IRNA reported.

The ⁠Saudi-led ⁠coalition in ​Yemen has said that ⁠its ​air ‌defences ‌dealt with ‌ballistic missiles launched by Yemen’s ‌Iran-aligned Houthis towards ​the ⁠kingdom’s southern region, as tensions rose after Sanaa airport was attacked.

It comes after the Houthis said Saudi Arabia had launched a series of strikes on the airport in the Yemeni capital. The Saudi-backed Yemeni government claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it wanted to prevent an Iranian plane from landing.

It came after they failed to convince a Houthi delegation that went to Tehran for the late Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei’s funeral to board a flight on domestic carrier Yemenia instead.

“Air defences intercepted a ballistic missile threat launched by the terrorist Houthi militia towards the southern region,” coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said, in a social media post.

Earlier, the Houthis warned that the attack would end an informal truce between the two sides that has held since 2022.

“In a flagrant and brazen act of aggression, the criminal Saudi enemy has targeted Sanaa International Airport with a series of airstrikes, thereby ending the de-escalation phase and bearing the consequences of its aggression,” Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a post on X.

It marks the biggest flare-up in years between the two sides that threatens to upend a frozen conflict.

The UN’s shipping ⁠agency said on Monday that it opposes fees on ships passing ⁠through maritime waterways but ⁠would ​await more details after US president Donald Trump said he would reinstate ⁠a naval blockade on Iran and charge 20% on all cargo shipped ⁠through the strait of Hormuz.

Trump said in a ​Truth Social post ‌the process ‌would begin immediately, but did not elaborate.

Israel’s attacks on Lebanon since 2 March have killed at least 4,324 people and wounded 12,221, Lebanon’s health ministry says.

Israel has continued its assault on southern Lebanon despite a the ceasefire.

Donald Trump has once again threatened to take control of the strait of Hormuz, as he announced the reimposition of a naval blockade on Iran and demanded a 20% tariff for all cargoes shipped through the key maritime passage.

Declaring the strait “open”, Trump suggested in a post on his Truth Social platform that the US should be known henceforth as the “Guardian of the Strait of Hormuz”, as Iran and the US engaged in some of the heaviest drone and missile exchanges since an interim deal was negotiated to bring an end to the conflict.

Trump has made numerous previous claims and threats over the months of the war with Iran, including frequent claims of victory, many of which have had little grounding in reality, and it remained unclear whether he had given orders to the US Navy to force transit passage. It also remains unclear in practical terms how easy it would be for the navy to do so.

Trump’s demand for a 20% tariff comes despite his administration’s previous insistence that no country should be allowed to charge fees for passages used for international navigation.

That stance was reiterated last month by the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who said: “No country is allowed to charge tolls or fees on an international waterway. That’s existing international law.”

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said earlier on Monday that the June memorandum of understanding that formed the basis for the negotiations and lifted the US blockade was “in crisis”.

The previous blockade, in place from April to June, cut off Iranian oil exports and threatened a damaging shutdown of the industry.

Baqaei said Iran would ignore its obligations under the deal if the US did the same, but nonetheless added that Tehran was continuing talks with mediators from Qatar, Pakistan and Oman in an effort to prevent further escalation.

A small number of vessels crossed the strait of Hormuz on Sunday, despite the heightened security threats as Tehran and Washington battle for control of the strategic waterway.

Just 14 vessels – half of which were commercial ships – crossed on Sunday, according to data from maritime tracker Kpler, suggesting the waterway is not completely closed as Iran had announced.

At least three commodity vessels crossed so far on Monday, according to Kpler.

However, traffic is significantly disrupted by security risks after Iran attacked another ship on Saturday and exchanged strikes with the United States near the waterway.

US forces struck ⁠a submarine ⁠and ​ship maintenance facility ⁠in Iran on ⁠Sunday ​using one-way ‌attack ‌drones, the ‌Central Command said on Monday.

“Last night’s strikes ‌degraded Iran’s ability ​to continue attacking commercial ⁠shipping,” Central ​Command said ​in ​a post on ​X.

In a new Truth Social post, the US president, Donald Trump, has claimed that the strait of Hormuz is open and will “remain” open “with or without Iran”, and said the US will reinstate its blockade of Iranian ports.

He said the US would start charging fees on ships transiting through the narrow waterway, claiming the US would levy a 20% fee “for any and all costs necessary” to provide security and safety for vessels.

Trump wrote:

We are reinstating the THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE, so named because it is only stopping Iran’s ships or customers from entering or leaving.

All other countries will have fair and open use of the Strait. The U.S.A. will be, from this point forward, known as “THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT,” but as such, and as a matter of FAIRNESS, will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World. The process and formation will begin immediately.