The US has launched its third round of strikes in a week on Iran after the regime said it had closed the Strait of Hormuz "until further notice and until the end of US interference" in the region, reports AFP.
US Central Command (Centcom) said it had begun a new wave of strikes hours after Iran's navy "blatantly attacked" M/V GFS Galaxy, a Cyprus-flagged container ship travelling through the waterway.
The attack caused a fire and "significant damage" to the vessel's engine room, forcing the ship to halt in the waterway, Centcom said.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO) said the crew had abandoned ship and was currently in a lifeboat. Centcom had earlier claimed a civilian crew member was missing.
Centcom wrote on X: "Iran was provided yet another opportunity to demonstrate adherence to the Memorandum of Understanding after being held accountable for earlier attacks on commercial vessels but has again failed.
"In response, the United States is imposing a heavy cost by continuing to degrade Iran's ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the strait."
Explosions were reported in Bushehr, Qeshm Island and Chabahar near the strait, according to state media.
Explosions were reported in Bushehr province, near the Strait of Hormuz
A few hours later, there were explosions in Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE amid reports of Iran launching retaliatory attacks. The IRGC claimed it had targeted US bases and radar sites in Kuwait, Qatar and Jordan, and destroyed command and control centres and drone hangars.
Centcom said its barrage by land and sea-based fighter planes, drones and ships had hit approximately 140 Iranian military targets, including missile and drone sites, naval capabilities, ammunition storage facilities, communication networks and coastal surveillance locations.
Saturday's strikes marked the largest US bombardment of Iranian assets in weeks.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had claimed earlier that it hit the Cyprus-flagged container ship with a "warning shot", declaring that "no vessel will be permitted to transit" and warning against retaliation.
"If the enemy uses this incident as a pretext and makes any misstep, it will be met with a severe response," the navy said in state media.
UKMTO said it had received a report of damage to the rear of a container ship that had caused a fire on board, nine nautical miles east of Oman.
The repeated tradeoff of strikes has heightened tensions between the two countries, who signed an interim peace deal just over three weeks ago - Social Media/Reuters
The IRGC claimed on Sunday morning that its forces had struck a second vessel in the strait, though this has not been confirmed.
Just after the latest strikes, Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, wrote on X: "Iran made a poor choice. Now they pay."
The strikes come as negotiations to reach a lasting peace deal and resolve the dispute over traffic through the Strait of Hormuz hang by a thread.
While the IRGC insists that ships travel through an approved route past the shores of Iran, striking ships that fail to adhere, the US maintains that vessels must be free to transit anywhere in the narrow waterway.
The friction over that disagreement has threatened to plunge the US and Iran back into full-scale war, with the two sides trading strikes three times in the past week.
After Iran struck three ships using a US-approved route near the coast of Oman, the US responded with two nights of heavy bombardment. According to Iran's health ministry, US strikes on six cities across Iran on Wednesday and Thursday killed at least 17 people and injured a further 115.
Iran then targeted US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain with missiles and drones.
Just before the US launched strikes, a deadline passed for an ultimatum issued by the US to Tehran to reopen the strait and apologise for all attacks on commercial ships by the end of Saturday.
US officials claimed Iran had told them the strikes on civilian vessels were carried out by rogue hardliners seeking to undermine the interim peace agreement signed just over three weeks ago, which Donald Trump has since declared was "over".
Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian foreign minister, arrived in Oman on Saturday to discuss arrangements for the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
Before the meeting, Iran's foreign ministry said it was "determined and resolute" to fulfil its responsibility to ensure normal shipping through the strait.
Oman has drafted a proposal that would see traffic flow through the strait on two separate routes through Omani and Iranian waters, CNN reported.
The southern corridor, through Omani territory, would allow ships to transit freely under pre-war conditions. The northern corridor would require vessels to obtain prior approval from Iran and would not feature any tolls, as the IRGC has suggested.
Discussions through intermediaries are continuing, with the US president claiming that Iran asked for further negotiations.
Iran has denied seeking a continuation of the talks but has said it agreed to host a Qatari mediator.
A funeral procession for Ali Khamenei
Hours after the US ultimatum, Iran's supreme leader warned that vengeance for the death of his father "must certainly take place".
Mojtaba Khamenei released a rare message on Saturday after the funeral of his father, Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US-Israeli strikes on the first day of the war.
Mojtaba, who has not been seen in public since he was appointed supreme leader amid rumours over his ill health, said: "We pledge to avenge the blood of the martyred leader and all the martyrs of these two wars from the criminal and disgraced killers.
"Revenge is the desire of our nation and it must certainly take place."
On Friday, Mr Trump also renewed his threats of retaliation against Iran if it attempted to assassinate him.
Writing on Truth Social, he said US forces would "completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran".
"1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat, pronounced in many corners of the Globe, to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate, the sitting President of the United States of America, in this case, ME!" he wrote.
Israel has reportedly provided the US with intelligence suggesting Iran is developing new plans to assassinate Mr Trump.
At last week's funeral ceremonies for Ali Khamenei, crowds unfurled large banners calling for Mr Trump's death.
END/AFP/ASA
