US and Iran Escalates Attacks in Strait of Hormuz

US and Iranian forces exchanged heavy missiles and drone strikes with Tehran targeting US facilities in states across the Gulf on Sunday, 12th July, after saying it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz.

Series of attacks between the US and Iran over the past several days led US President Donald Trump to declare the end of a ceasefire meant to halt the fighting that the US and Israel began on February 28, though Trump has left the door open to continued negotiations.

The escalation followed several attacks on commercial ships in the area. Iran said it had closed the Strait after firing a warning shot that struck a vessel travelling on an approved route, and said on Sunday it had disabled a second vessel.

Iran Revolutionary Guards said the Strait will remain closed until the end of the US interference in the region.

US Central Command, CENTCOM, however, said commercial vessels continue to transit through the waterway that carried one fifth of the world's oil and LNG shipments before the war.