Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards say they targeted US facilities in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Jordan on Monday
\n tehran
\nUS and Iranian forces have exchanged heavy missile and drone assaults, with Tehran targeting US facilities in states across the Gulf on Sunday and saying it had again closed the vital Strait of Hormuz.
\nThe renewed violence casts further doubt on the future of an interim US-Iranian agreement signed last month that aimed to reopen the strait and end the war after a further 60 days of negotiations.
\n The strikes were the latest in a cycle of attacks and counter-attacks as Iran seeks to assert control over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. However, the barrage marked an escalation in pace and range.
\nIran\u2019s strikes extended to Qatar, a mediator in ceasefire talks that had not come under attack since April. The United Arab Emirates, which had not been targeted since early May, said its air defences had engaged missiles and drones from Iran.
\nThe US military began launching more strikes against Iran at 5 pm ET on Sunday, Central Command said in a statement on the social media platform X, \u201cto continue degrading their ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the Strait of Hormuz.\u201d
\nUS Central Command spokesperson Tim Hawkins told CNN that US aircraft shot down an Iranian cruise missile and a one-way attack drone.
\nIn a brief phone interview with Reuters on Sunday afternoon, US President Donald Trump referred to the weekend\u2019s strikes on Iran. \u201cWe\u2019re beating them up,\u201d he said.
\nIranian media said on Sunday there had been missile attacks and explosions around the port cities of Sirik and Bandar Abbas, home to military facilities on the strait, and nearby Qeshm Island.
\nIn a statement, Iran\u2019s foreign ministry condemned \u201caggressive\u201d US attacks against Iran over the weekend. The ministry also said talks between Iran and Oman on Saturday in Muscat \u2014 focused on arrangements for managing the strait and transit routes \u2014 were unable to reach a result because of \u201covert and covert\u201d US pressure on Oman.
\nIn the past week, Trump has said he considers the ceasefire over, while leaving the door open to more talks.
\nIran\u2019s top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, posted on X on Sunday: \u201cThe era of one-sided deals is OVER. We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking.\u201d
\nThe war that the US and Israel launched against Iran on February 28 has destabilised the Gulf, where Iran has struck countries hosting US bases. Iran\u2019s effective blockade of the strait has driven energy prices higher and fuelled global inflation.
\nHigher prices, especially for petrol, are politically sensitive for Trump ahead of November\u2019s congressional elections.
\nFlurry of strikes
\nIran has sought to establish a permanent system for collecting fees in the strait, which carried one-fifth of the world\u2019s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before the war, and has warned vessels not to sail without its authorisation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards say they targeted US facilities in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Jordan on Monday tehran US and Iranian forces have exchanged heavy missile and drone assaults, with Tehran targeting US facilities in states across the Gulf on Sunday and saying it had again closed the vital Strait of Hormuz. The renewed violence casts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-556063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-top-news"],"yoast_head":"\n