WASHINGTON - The US military launched a new wave of strikes against Iran on Sunday after renewed fighting over the Strait of Hormuz saw several of Washington's Gulf allies targeted by incoming fire.
The flare-up is the latest to undermine an interim agreement between Washington and Tehran aimed at ending their war, which has caused global economic shockwaves since it began in late February.
The latest salvo by US forces began at 2100 GMT on Sunday, Central Command (CENTCOM) said on X, following approximately 140 strikes the previous night.
Iranian state media reported US strikes targeting large areas across southern and western Iran, including Qeshm island and Bandar Abbas near the strait, and in Khuzestan province bordering Iraq.
Oil prices, which have tumbled since the announcement of the agreement, rose over 3.5 percent when futures trading opened Monday in Tokyo, with the US benchmark WTI jumping above $74 a barrel.
Iran also reported strikes Sunday evening on two of its southern islands while Kuwait, where Tehran has repeatedly targeted US installations, said border posts and an offshore oil platform had been attacked.
The renewed fighting followed an Iranian attack early Sunday on a commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whose crew was forced to abandon it after it went up in flames.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said after the incident that "the Strait of Hormuz will be closed until further notice and until the end of American interventions in this region," according to state news agency IRNA.
CENTCOM countered on X that the strait was "open to all vessels seeking to lawfully transit."
The military command added that US forces were "positioned and prepared to ensure" freedom of navigation, saying: "Iran does not control the strait. Traffic is flowing."
Control of the strategic waterway has become key leverage for Iran, with an adviser to the country's supreme leader on Sunday saying it was more important than "dozens of atomic bombs."
Mediators have been trying to salvage a diplomatic solution to ending the war after President Donald Trump this week declared a ceasefire over.
Iran's foreign ministry said the US attacks on Sunday had "caused the return of insecurity in the Strait of Hormuz" and "have rendered futile all efforts" at establishing peace in the region.
- AFP