US Strikes Southern Iran; Tehran Claims Hits on American Missile System in Kuwait, Vessel in Hormuz

The United States and Iran intensified their military confrontations on Monday, edging closer to war. Additionally, the Trump administration reinstated a naval blockade of Iranian ports and announced plans to control the Strait of Hormuz

The United States and Iran exchanged a fresh wave of strikes on Monday, marking a sharp escalation in hostilities and bringing the two nations closest to a full-fledged war since their ceasefire last month.

The latest tit-for-tat attacks came as President Donald Trump vowed to intensify US military action, while Iranian officials renewed calls for retaliation over the killing of their former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said it had carried out another round of strikes against Iranian targets on Trump’s orders. “These strikes will continue imposing a heavy cost on Iranian forces and degrade their ability to attack innocent civilians and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” CENTCOM said in a post on X.

Iranian state television reported explosions in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas as well as on Kish Island, though officials did not immediately provide details on the extent of the damage.

Earlier on Monday, Trump had said that the United States would continue its military campaign. “We’re going to hit them very hard tonight and going to hit them hard tomorrow. And there’s not a damn thing they can do about it,” he told radio host Hugh Hewitt.

Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported that the country’s navy had fired cruise missiles at what it described as a “hostile vessel of the American enemy”, citing an unnamed military source.

The broadcaster also reported attacks across the Gulf region as tensions spread beyond Iran’s borders. In a separate statement carried by IRIB, Iran’s military said it had launched drones targeting US military facilities in Kuwait.

It said the targets included a Patriot missile system, fuel storage tanks, a watchtower, an ammunition depot and communications infrastructure.

Iran also said it had launched strikes against American military assets in Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman. The claims have not been independently verified.

The latest exchange came as the Trump administration announced it would reinstate a naval blockade of Iranian ports. The US military said the blockade, which had previously been in effect from April until June, would resume late on Tuesday. Trump also declared that the United States would take control of the Strait of Hormuz and impose a 20% charge on cargo passing through the strategic waterway.

“The United States will control the Strait of Hormuz, and will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World,” he wrote on social media.

The proposal marks a significant shift, as US officials had previously maintained that international shipping through the Strait of Hormuz should remain free of tolls or fees.

Trump has also formally notified Congress that fighting with Iran has resumed, acknowledging that the ceasefire has broken down.

Trump has also formally notified Congress that fighting with Iran has resumed, acknowledging that the ceasefire has broken down.

The notification, dated Friday and obtained by The New York Times, comes despite Congress having previously voted to direct the president either to end military operations or seek congressional authorisation to continue them.

The White House has maintained that Trump has the constitutional authority to continue military action without additional approval from Congress.

Senior Iranian officials continued to signal that retaliation remained a priority following the death of Ayatollah Khamenei. Ali Bagheri Kani, deputy secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, described revenge against the United States as “the right of the Iranian nation”, according to state broadcaster IRIB.

The renewed hostilities come after nearly a week of escalating military exchanges centred on the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global shipping route through which around one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes.

Shipping through the waterway had fallen sharply after Iranian attacks and threats earlier this year. Although traffic recovered slightly following the ceasefire, it has remained well below pre-war levels.