US Central Command, however, said commercial shipping continued to move through the waterway, which before the war carried a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.
Strikes Intensify as Iran Widens Retaliation Across the Gulf
US Central Command said its forces struck 140 Iranian military targets on Saturday, aiming primarily to curb Iran's capacity to attack civilian ships and merchant vessels transiting the strait. Over three nights of strikes this week, US forces have hit more than 300 targets in total, the military said.
Iranian state media reported explosions in several port cities.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Sunday that they had retaliated by destroying a command and control center and drone hangars at a base in Jordan. They also struck a US military radar station in Kuwait, hit support and refueling platforms for US aircraft carriers in Oman, and destroyed a fighter jet maintenance center and command and control facility in Qatar. A second ship in the Strait of Hormuz, the Revolutionary Guards added, had also been struck and disabled.
The United Arab Emirates said its air defense systems had intercepted Iranian missiles and drones, while warning sirens sounded in Bahrain and explosions were heard in Doha.
The speed of Tehran's escalation is striking. Iran had struck sites in Kuwait and Bahrain in recent weeks but had held off targeting Qatar since early April and the United Arab Emirates since early May, until now.
The war has destabilized the Persian Gulf, and Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has driven energy prices sharply higher, fueling global inflation and stoking fears of an economic slowdown. Higher prices, particularly at the pump, are a politically charged issue for Trump ahead of the November midterm congressional elections.
"Keep your word or pay the price", Iran Tells US
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the United States of violating the ceasefire, writing on X on Friday that "there can only be mutual adherence to the agreement".
Iran's chief negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, struck a similarly defiant tone on Sunday, declaring on X: "The era of one-sided deals is OVER. We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking."
The exchange followed a rapid escalation earlier in the week. On Tuesday, the US revoked a license authorizing the sale of Iranian oil after three Qatari and Saudi Arabian commercial tankers came under fire, prompting US strikes on Iranian targets. Iran responded by attacking US military facilities across the Persian Gulf states.
Iran has not claimed responsibility for the tanker attacks, but analysts say Tehran is using such actions to strengthen its hand in negotiations.
Diplomatic channels remain open despite the rhetoric. Araghchi met Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi in Oman to discuss "appropriate mechanisms for the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz", according to a statement from the Iranian foreign ministry. Omani state media reported that negotiators from both countries would continue talks "at the technical and political levels".
Meanwhile, Iran's new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, issued a written statement on Saturday vowing retaliation for the death of his father and predecessor, who was killed in the war's opening attacks, and declaring that revenge would be pursued regardless of the consequences for Iran.
“We pledge to avenge the blood of the martyred leader and all the martyrs”, it read.
The statement followed funeral ceremonies for the former Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, held on Thursday. His son did not attend and has not appeared in public since the war began.
(Reuters, im)
