War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

A US air base in Jordan was targeted by Iranian ballistic missiles, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement published by Fars News, calling on the Jordanian people to dismantle American bases in their country, Reuters reports.

“You know very well that not only do we not have any enmity with your country, but we also love you, the noble people, who understand the pain and oppression of the Palestinian people more than any other nation,” the statement said.

Sirens have been sounded in Bahrain, the interior ministry has said on X. This is the third time in the past five hours that sirens have been sounded.

“Citizens and residents are urged to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place,” it said.

Jordan’s armed forces have shot down four missiles in Jordanian airspace that were fired from Iran, according to the official Petra news agency, Al Jazeera reports.

Iran’s Guards said it has launched missile and drone attacks on the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, Al Jazeera reports.

It said the strikes set fire to fuel depots at the base and hit and destroyed a Patriot radar, as well as the fleet’s air control radar, a C-RAM early warning radar system and the control and monitoring centre for unmanned surface vessels.

“The retaliatory operation continues,” the statement added.

For some time, the escalating confrontation between the US and Iran has been playing out round the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz. Both states want to manage the international waterway, which has a key role in global trade, particularly in the transport of hydrocarbons. Tensions flared last week when the Iranians attacked ships using a route they had not ‘authorised’.

From that point onwards, both the US and Iran have traded regular fire, with hostilities rising, and the Islamabad MoU coming under a cloud. The US has hit Iranian facilities close to the coast, as opposed to the heavier bombing across the country before the April ceasefire. Tehran has responded by hitting US bases and infrastructure from Jordan to the GCC states. On Monday, American President Donald Trump declared, in all caps, that his country would be the “guardian of the Hormuz Strait”, while adding that the blockade of Iran would resume. Tehran, meanwhile, says the strait has been closed.

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Oil prices jumped and stocks fell again after fresh US strikes against Iran that marked a new escalation in hostilities that has fuelled fears over their already fragile truce and the chances of another spike in inflation, Reuters reports.

Tech firms were once again in the crosshairs, with South Korea’s Kospi extending a painful selloff as chip titan SK hynix continued to be routed amid growing fears about the AI boom.

The latest attacks came after Iranian forces struck a commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz — through which a fifth of global oil passes — early Sunday, before announcing the closure of the waterway.

US President Donald Trump has sent Congress a formal notification that hostilities against Iran resumed on July 7, a letter his administration sees as opening a new 60-day window to use the military in the region without congressional approval, Reuters reports.

“I directed this military action consistent with my responsibility to protect Americans and United States’ national security and foreign policy interests,” Trump said in the letter, dated July 10.

The letter outlines Trump’s actions, including ordering a two-week ceasefire on April 7, which was extended, and his administration’s efforts to achieve a diplomatic solution to the conflict.

US military said latest round of attacks on Iran lasted five hours and that US forces “successfully struck military targets across Iran including Bushehr, Chah Bahar, Jask, Konarak, Abu Musa, and Bandar Abbas,” Al Jazeera reports.

US forces “employed precision munitions against Iranian coastal defense systems, missile and drone sites, and maritime capabilities,” it said, with the aim of further degrading “Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping”.

Four in five Americans expect the US war with Iran to drag on for an extended period, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted as fighting escalated and President Donald Trump declared a blockade of Iranian shipping in the Gulf.

The three-day poll completed on Sunday found that 79 per cent of respondents think US military involvement in Iran will “go on for an extended period of time,” up from 65pc in late March.

Only 18pc of respondents said they think the war would “end pretty quickly in a matter of weeks”.

Some 37pc of respondents approved of US military strikes against Iran, which Washington resumed on June 26 in response to what it said were Iranian attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

The US military said its forces have completed their latest wave of strikes on Iran, Reuters reports.

“During the five-hour mission, US forces successfully struck military targets across Iran including Bushehr, Chah Bahar, Jask, Konarak, Abu Musa, and Bandar Abbas,” the US Central Command said in a statement on X.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had carried out missile and drone strikes on Bahrain, after the Gulf country urged citizens to take shelter as a siren sounded, AFP reports.

“Several weapons support warehouses, a satellite communications center and the residential building for US forces in Bahrain were targeted,” Iranian state television IRIB quoted the Guards as saying.

The United Arab Emirates said Tuesday that Iran attacked two ships in the Strait of Hormuz, killing one crew member and wounding eight others, AFP reports.

“The Ministry of Defence condemned this flagrant attack, describing it as a grave violation and a clear breach of international law that threatens regional security and stability,” the defence ministry wrote on X.

US President Donald Trump said that a deal with Tehran to end the Middle East war was still possible, despite launching fresh strikes on Iran and reimposing a blockade of Iranian ports, AFP reports.

“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’.”

The US military said it had launched a fresh salvo of attacks on Iran, marking the third night in a row that it had struck the country, as a deal to end the war falters, AFP reports.

“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 said in a statement on social media, noting the strikes began at 2045 GMT.

Trump has “no path to a deal” and is approaching the latest round of strikes with “lunacy”, US Senator Chris Murphy has said, Al Jazeera reports.

“Trump has no way out. Iran is emboldened. Their hardliners have control, and they likely aren’t going to do a meaningful nuclear deal or give up control of the Strait,” Murphy writes on X. “A total disaster.”

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and President Joseph Aoun have discussed the new round of Lebanese-American-Israeli negotiations this week and the demands for the withdrawal of Israeli forces, Al Jazeera reports.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says two American Lucas drones in were intercepted and destroyed in Bandar Abbas and Lar by the IRGC’s Aerospace Force, state news agency IRNA reports.

The United States says consular appointments in the United Arab Emirates will be suspended for three days against the backdrop of escalating military tensions in the Gulf region, AFP reports.

“The US Embassy in Abu Dhabi and US Consulate General in Dubai have cancelled consular appointments from July 13 to 15 due to the regional security situation. If you have an appointment on those dates, Americans should not come to the embassy or consulate, we will contact you to reschedule,” it says in a statement.

Oil prices have shot up around 9 per cent as President Donald Trump announced the reimposition of a US naval blockade on Iranian ports while the two sides traded attacks, AFP reports.

Near 1820 GMT (11:20pm PKT), Brent oil futures jumped 9.1pc to $82.90 a barrel, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate also climbed by 9.1pc, to $77.87 a barrel.

The surge comes as the two countries clash over control of the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for petroleum shipments.

US Central Command (Centcom) has said in a statement that the reinstated naval blockade of Iranian ports will follow the pattern as that imposed from April to June this year.

“At the Commander in Chief’s direction, US Central Command forces will resume blockading maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports on July 14 at 4 pm ET (1am PKT on July 15),” it writes in a post on X.

Centcom says its forces will enforce the blockade against vessels transiting to or from Iranian ports and coastal areas, adding that the military “continues to support traffic flow through regional waters for all vessels not violating the blockade”.

“The resumption of the US blockade against Iran follows the initial implementation from April 13 to June 18,” Centcom adds.

“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 have been advised to monitor Notice to Mariners broadcasts and contact US naval forces while operating in the Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz.

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

The US military will begin enforcing a maritime blockade on Iran on Tuesday, the US Navy-led Joint Maritime Information Centre (JMIC) says, Reuters reports.

The blockade, covering all of Iran’s ports, oil terminals and coastal areas, will be enforced for all vessel traffic — regardless of flag — from 2000 GMT on July 14 (1am PKT on July 15), the centre says in an advisory.

“Any vessel suspected of entering or departing the blockaded area without authorisation is subject to interception, diversion, and capture. Non-compliant vessels may be legally compelled with force,” the statement adds.

The centre says neutral transit through the Strait of Hormuz heading to or from non-Iranian destinations will not be impeded.