The US military said it had completed a fresh wave of air strikes on targets inside Iran to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, just hours after President Donald Trump said he was reinstating a blockade of the key waterway.
"These strikes will continue imposing a heavy cost on Iranian forces and degrade their ability to attack innocent civilians and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz," US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement late on July 13, the third consecutive day of initiating attacks.
CENTCOM later added that, during the five-hour operation, US forces successfully struck military targets across Iran, further degrading Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping.
Iranian state media reported explosions on several islands of Iran's southern coast, including Kish, Qeshm, and Abu Musa.
The strikes are the latest sign of the unraveling of an accord signed last month setting out conditions under which the two sides would negotiate a peace deal.
US media reported earlier on July 13 that Trump over the weekend notified Congress that the United States was once again at war with Iran, starting a 60-day period to use the military for strikes without having to seek formal approval from lawmakers.
Speaking to reporters in the White House late on July 13, Trump said the attacks were aimed at disabling Iran's capabilities to disrupt maritime traffic in the strait.
He added that despite three consecutive nights of attacks on Iran, a deal to end the fighting is still possible.
"Yeah, I think a deal is possible. Sure, I do," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "We had a deal with them two days ago and then they said 'Oh we can't make that deal. We have to negotiate it further.'"
Earlier in the day, Trump told Fox News that the United States may take control of the strait, which during peace time handles about one-fifth of the world's energy transit and has become one of the main battlegrounds of the conflict.
"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," Trump wrote in a social media post.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said in a statement just before Trump's social media post that the only way to restore regular shipping traffic through the strait was to end US military intervention in the waterway.
In an angrily worded statement afterward, Iran's top joint military command said the US had no role in determining the future of the strait, warning countries cooperating with Washington "bear full responsibility for all insecurity and the escalation of the war in the region."
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi also reacted to Trump's post, saying that "Iran has always been the GUARDIAN of the Strait and will remain so FOREVER."
The Defense Ministry of the United Arab Emirates said on July 13 that two national tankers were targeted by Iranian cruise missiles in the southern lane of the Strait of Hormuz in Omani territorial waters, killing one Indian crew member and wounding eight others.
Iran has launched attacks on several of its Gulf neighbors, as well as ships in the strait it says are violating its rules for transiting the waterway.
Jordan's army said on July 14 that it had intercepted four missiles launched from Iran, while Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed strikes on Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, and Oman, saying they had targeted US military facilities.
US-Iran Talks In Doubt Amid Escalation
Questions over the fate of the agreement that had raised hopes of peace have raged for several days.
Trump said last week the Memorandum of Understanding was void in his mind, though he added that negotiators could continue to hold talks if they felt progress could be made on a peace accord. But a weekend of attacks dimmed those prospects even further.
Trump told CNN on July 12 that "We hit them very hard last night" and claimed that Washington and Tehran were close to a deal before the latest exchange of fire.
"They were giving up everything, and then all of a sudden two hours after that, they hit a ship with a drone. These people, there is something wrong with them," he said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi met Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi over the weekend to discuss mechanisms for ensuring safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, according to Tehran.
Earlier, Oman said discussions with Iran would continue at both the technical and political levels in an effort to reach agreements consistent with international law regarding navigation through the waterway.
There were no US officials participating in those discussions.
RFE/RL learned from diplomatic sources that Omani mediators handed proposals to the Iranian delegation aimed at resolving disputes over maritime navigation. Senior officials declined to comment on the substance of the proposals.
According to diplomatic sources familiar with the discussions, Iran left the negotiations saying it would return after reaching a unified internal position on proposals that would have allowed freedom of navigation through Omani waters in the southern part of the strait without tolls.
Shortly afterward, Iran's national security apparatus responded by firing on a commercial vessel and announcing the closure of the waterway.
In recent months, Trump has promoted what he has called the "Southern Highway" -- a shipping route that keeps vessels closer to Oman's coastline and farther from Iranian territorial waters.
Tehran has repeatedly insisted that only its preferred route, running closer to the Iranian coast, is considered safe and has previously been accused of targeting vessels using the Omani route.
War Of Words Raises Risks
The latest confrontation unfolded against an increasingly volatile political backdrop.
Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei vowed revenge for the killing of his father and predecessor, Ali Khamenei, saying retaliation "must inevitably be carried out."
Ali Khameni, who was killed in US and Israel air strikes on February 28 as the war broke out, was buried on July 9 at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad.
"This matter depends neither on my personal existence nor on that of other officials. Whether we are present or not, it will come to pass," he said, adding that Iran had compiled a list of individuals to be targeted.
Hours earlier, Trump warned that any assassination attempt against him would trigger overwhelming US military retaliation.
