Despite all signs to contrary, Trump says deal with Tehran to end the war is still possible
\n tehran
\nThe United States launched a third night of strikes on Iran as President Donald Trump planned to reimpose a blockade Tuesday on Iranian ports and floated a 20% fee on cargo in the vital Strait of Hormuz.
\nTrump said a deal with the Islamic republic was still possible even as attacks were carried out, with Iran striking two ships in the strategic waterway and killing one crew member, according to the United Arab Emirates.
\nThe US military said its five-hour mission hit targets across Iran including coastal Bushehr and Bandar Abbas, to \u201cdegrade Iran\u2019s ability to attack commercial shipping\u201d. After the strikes, Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards announced they had in turn fired missiles and drones on Bahrain, targeting a residential building for US forces and other facilities. \u201cWe\u2019re going to hit them very hard tonight, and we\u2019re going to hit them hard tomorrow,\u201d Trump said at the White House on Monday.
\nTrump\u2019s declaration on the Hormuz blockade followed US and Iranian attacks of a scale unseen since an April ceasefire in the Middle East conflict, adding to doubts about efforts to bring a permanent end to the war.
\nIran started blocking the strait after US-Israel attacks in February, which prompted Washington\u2019s blockade on Tehran\u2019s ports \u2014 but restrictions eased after the sides agreed a preliminary deal in June.
\nTrump said Monday that the United States was \u201ctaking over\u201d the strait and would slap a levy of 20% on all cargo shipped through it, in an announcement that drew mockery from Iran and accusations of \u201cpiracy\u201d. US Central Command (Centcom) said Iran\u2019s ports on the waterway would be blockaded from 2000 GMT on Tuesday.
\nOil prices shot up more than 9% Monday over fears of renewed conflict and rose again Tuesday, piling on more than 1%. Tehran launched attacks on other US allies in the region, including Jordan, which said it had shot down four missiles from Iran. Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards said their strikes targeted US forces at an air base and urged Jordanians to issue a \u201cserious demand for the removal of the occupying American bases from the region\u201d.
\nThese attacks came after Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards announced strikes on Monday on Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait and Oman.
\nIran insists it only targets US interests in the Gulf, but its military command spokesman said that any collaboration by Gulf countries with the United States would be considered \u201can act of war.\u201d
\nResumed conflict
\nTrump formally notified Congress last week that the United States had resumed military conflict against Iran, the White House confirmed to AFP, giving the Pentagon an additional 60 days to operate in the region without congressional approval.
\nIn addition to the moves in Hormuz, the US president also threatened to destroy Pickaxe Mountain, a deeply buried nuclear site near Natanz where Western intelligence suspects Iran is building an undeclared enrichment facility.
\n\u201cTell the Iranians to be ready. Let them know we\u2019re coming (and) there\u2019s not a damn thing they can do about it,\u201d he told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt.
\nTrump declared on Truth Social that the United States would be \u201cknown as \u2018THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT\u2019\u201d and levy a 20% fee on all cargo shipped through the waterway.
\nWhile Iran\u2019s ports would again be blockaded, Trump said \u201call other countries will have fair and open use of the strait\u201d.
\nIranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded mockingly on X that Trump was \u201cabsolutely right\u201d that whoever guarantees safe passage should be compensated \u2014 but that Tehran would charge less.
\n\u201c20% is of course too much,\u201d he said.
\nWashington has vehemently opposed Tehran\u2019s desire to charge tolls in the strait, which international law generally forbids.
\n\u2018In crisis\u2019
\nDespite all signs to the contrary, Trump said Monday that a deal with Tehran to end the war was still possible.
\nIran\u2019s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said earlier Monday that the June memorandum of understanding that formed the basis for the negotiations and lifted the US blockade was \u201cin crisis\u201d.
\nBaqaei said Iran would ignore its obligations under the deal if the Washington did the same, but added that Tehran was continuing talks with mediators from Qatar, Pakistan and Oman to prevent further escalation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Despite all signs to contrary, Trump says deal with Tehran to end the war is still possible tehran The United States launched a third night of strikes on Iran as President Donald Trump planned to reimpose a blockade Tuesday on Iranian ports and floated a 20% fee on cargo in the vital Strait of Hormuz. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-556335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n