US launches fourth consecutive night of strikes on Iran hours after Trump makes Strait of Hormuz threat
It comes as American forces prepare to "resume the naval blockade" against Tehran
The US has launched further strikes on Iran just hours after Donald Trump declared that the contested Strait of Hormuz was open to all ship traffic except for the gulf state.
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Its Central Command wrote on X: "At 3 p.m. ET today, U.S. Central Command forces began launching an additional round of strikes against Iran to continue degrading Iranian capabilities used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
"The strikes are taking place as American forces prepare to resume the naval blockade against Iranian ports and coastal areas.
"The blockade goes into effect at 4 p.m. ET."
Read more: Moment US kamikaze drone boats blow up Iranian naval base in latest attack
Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported the sound of three consecutive explosions in the port city Bandar Abbas.
Earlier on Tuesday, the US President announced on his TruthSocial platform that the Strait was open to all traffic except from Iranian ships.
He claimed "oil is flowing like never before" thanks to the US, which he celebrated as having "the most powerful military in the world".
He announced a full blockade of the crucial waterway, through which 20% of the world's oil travels, in response to "lying, violent, malicious leadership", which he said was taking Iran "down the path of total destruction".
It comes after the US also carried out a large wave of attacks on Monday against coastal defence systems, missile and ?drone sites, and maritime capabilities in locations across Iran, its military said.
At 3 p.m. ET today, U.S. Central Command forces began launching an additional round of strikes against Iran to continue degrading Iranian capabilities used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The strikes are taking place as American forces prepare to resume the…
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 14, 2026
But an exchange of strikes also saw one person killed after Iran attacked the Strait.
The UAE's Ministry of Defence confirmed on Monday that one Indian crew member was killed and eight others were wounded after two national tankers were targeted by two Iranian cruise missiles in the southern lane of the shipping route.
Trump threatened the Middle Eastern nation in an interview with an American broadcaster earlier on Monday, saying: "We're going to hit Iran very hard tonight and we're going to hit them hard tomorrow, and there's not a damn thing they can do about it."
The flare-up in tensions was sparked again last week when Trump declared the fragile ceasefire over.
"It's a very interesting question. To me, I think it's over," the US President told reporters ahead of discussions with world leaders at the Nato summit.
"I don't want to deal with them anymore," the US president continued, before referring to members of the Iranian regime as "sick people".
He told the media: "I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them anymore. They’re scum.
"You know what scum is? They’re scum."