US and Iran launch strikes as Trump reverses threat to tax ships passing through Strait of Hormuz
The United States and Iran have launched new attacks on each other's interests in the Gulf, with Iran reporting strikes on Qeshm and the US hitting targets in Bushehr and Bandar Abbas. Concurrently, former President Donald Trump reversed his threat to tax ships in the Strait of Hormuz, opting for trade deals with Gulf allies instead.
Why it matters
This escalation of conflict in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil and gas shipping channel, has significant implications for international energy markets and regional stability. Trump's policy reversal also highlights shifting geopolitical strategies in the Middle East.
THE UNITED STATES and Iran have launched new attacks on each other’s interests in the Gulf, as president Donald Trump backed down on his threat to heavily tax ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump has vowed to reimpose a naval blockade on Iranian ports that was due to take effect on Tuesday evening, but said a negotiated deal was still possible even as fighting surged to a scale unseen since an April ceasefire.
Iran reported fresh strikes late today on its Gulf island of Qeshm in the strategic Strait of Hormuz waterway, the key shipping channel for Gulf oil and gas that has been largely blocked by Tehran since the start of the war.
It came after the US military said it hit targets across Iran including in the port cities of Bushehr and Bandar Abbas to “degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping”.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in