The United States carried out a third consecutive night of airstrikes against Iran, targeting military capabilities around the Strait of Hormuz as Donald Trump announced the reinstatement of a blockade on Iranian shipping and proposed a 20% fee on cargo passing through the strategic waterway.
An Iranian drone struck a warehouse in Kuwait, sparking a fire, according to footage and local authorities. The incident comes as Iran launches a fresh wave of missile and drone attacks targeting Kuwait and other Gulf states following recent U.S. strikes on Iranian military sites.
Iran's Tasnim News Agency reported that clashes have taken place between Iranian and U.S. forces in waters around the Strait of Hormuz.
According to a statement attributed to Hormozgan province authorities, sounds heard in Bandar Abbas, nearby coastal cities and islands in the Gulf were linked to the confrontation.
"Currently, clashes are taking place at sea," the statement said.
The report could not be independently verified, and there was no immediate comment from the U.S. military.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States would continue its military campaign against Iran and threatened to target critical infrastructure if Tehran does not enter negotiations.
Speaking to Fox News, Donald Trump said U.S. forces were "hitting Iran very hard" and would continue strikes in the coming days.
"If they don't sit down and negotiate, we're going to destroy all their power plants, all their bridges," Donald Trump said.
He also said the Strait of Hormuz would remain open to international shipping and reiterated that Washington intended to keep the strategic waterway accessible.
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister said Tehran would not be pressured into negotiations by U.S. military action or the naval blockade imposed by Washington.
"If the U.S. thinks its military attacks and blockade will force us to request negotiations, it's making a mistake," the deputy foreign minister said.
The remarks come as tensions continue to escalate following U.S. strikes on Iranian targets and the resumption of a naval blockade on vessels travelling to and from Iranian ports.
Kuwait's military said four navy personnel were injured after one of its vessels was targeted in what it described as Iranian attacks on Tuesday.
The injured service members received medical treatment and are in stable condition, the military said in a statement.
Kuwait's armed forces said they intercepted one ballistic missile, five cruise missiles and 33 drones during the attacks, which it said targeted several vital and civilian facilities.
The military added that falling debris caused material damage in some areas.
The U.S. military said it resumed a naval blockade on vessels travelling to and from Iranian ports and coastal areas at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
In a statement, the military said more than 20 U.S. Navy warships and hundreds of military aircraft were operating across the Middle East as part of the effort.
No further details were immediately provided on the scope of the blockade or how it would affect commercial shipping.
The United States has imposed a new round of Iran-related sanctions targeting several individuals, entities and vessels, according to details published by the Treasury Department.
The Treasury Department also issued a general licence authorising certain transactions involving people and vessels that were added to the sanctions list on 14 July.
According to the department, the licence allows activities related to winding down operations, limited safety and environmental transactions, and the offloading of cargo involving designated persons or vessels.
The U.S. did not immediately provide further details on the individuals, companies or vessels targeted by the latest sanctions.
The measures are part of Washington's ongoing sanctions programme aimed at increasing economic pressure on Iran while allowing limited transactions to address operational, safety and environmental concerns.
U.S. forces carried out additional strikes on military targets in Iran earlier on Tuesday to eliminate what a U.S. official described as "emerging threats".
The official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, did not provide further details, saying only that there had been a small number of additional strikes.
The latest action follows a broader wave of U.S. attacks on 13 July targeting coastal defence systems, missile and drone sites, and maritime capabilities across Iran.
According to the U.S. military, those strikes hit locations including Bushehr, Chah Bahar, Jask, Konarak, Abu Musa and Bandar Abbas.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he believes Iran and Hezbollah could be included in a Russia sanctions bill currently being considered by Congress.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Donald Trump also said the United States would pursue more business deals with Iraq and increase its involvement in the country's oil sector.
On the Strait of Hormuz, Donald Trump said he did not believe ships should be charged a transit fee.
"I don't think anybody should be able to charge a fee," Donald Trump said.
His comments come a day after he proposed that the United States charge a 20% transit fee. He added that while he did not support the idea of a fee, it was unfair that the U.S. was protecting the strategic waterway for the rest of the world.
"I don't like the concept of a fee, but at the same time, it's not fair that we're protecting this Strait for the entire world," Donald Trump said.
Donald Trump also said Gulf states were expected to invest in the United States and reiterated Washington's support for Iraq.
"We are there for Iraq if they need protection," Donald Trump said.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said Washington will pursue more business deals with Iraq, including in the country's oil sector.
Speaking to reporters before a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on Tuesday, Trump said Iraq had "tremendous potential" because of its oil resources.
"We're going to be doing a lot of deals," Donald Trump said, adding that the two countries would create jobs and increase oil production.
Trump also said U.S. companies were playing a leading role in Iraq's energy industry, saying: "A lot of oil is coming out, and the American companies are doing it, mostly American companies now."
He did not provide further details about the proposed agreements.
Multiple explosions have been reported in Iran, according to the Iranian state media reports.
A U.S. projectile has exploded near a water and electric plant in Kish Island, according to Tasnim News Agency. Explosion sounds have also been heard in Iran's Qeshm Island, according to Fars News Agency.
Meanwhile, Kuwait has said its armed forces are engaging with "hostile" aerial targets.
A proposed 20 per cent fee that shippers would pay the U.S. to cover security costs in the Strait of Hormuz has been dropped and replaced by trade and investment deals that a number of Gulf states will make in the U.S., Donald Trump has said.
"Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States," he said in a post on Truth Social.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said that the Strait of Hormuz is open to all ship traffic, except for Iran. He added that there would be a full blockade, but only of ships coming to and from Iranian ports.
A group of 55 Iranian fishermen have been freed from custody in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iran's embassy in the Gulf state has said on its Telegram channel.
The fishermen were detained by the UAE's coast guard in recent months due to "special conditions" in the region, the embassy added, in a likely reference to the Iran war. The process to send them home had started, the embassy said.
Airlines should avoid the airspace of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the waters over the Gulf of Oman, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has said.
The EASA said it issued the advisory, which is valid until 29 July, due to renewed U.S. and Iranian attacks in the region.
Norwegian shipping company Stolt-Nielsen's chemical tanker Stolt Magnesium was attacked in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Oman on Tuesday, business daily Finansavisen reported, citing the company.
The chemical tanker Stolt Magnesium caught fire in the Arabian Sea off Oman after what its operator described as the explosion of an unidentified external device, though all crew members were reported safe. Separately, two UAE crude tankers were reportedly struck by Iranian cruise missiles while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, causing significant damage and one reported crew fatality.
Iran's foreign ministry on Tuesday condemned Britain's decision to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a security threat, calling the move "unjustified" and "irresponsible".
The ministry said the IRGC was an official part of Iran's armed forces and accused Britain of violating international law by targeting a state institution.
Britain on Monday banned support for the IRGC and a linked group under new powers aimed at preventing foreign states from using proxies for activities such as surveillance and sabotage.
Iran, which is at war with the United States and Israel, has previously denied using proxies.
Lebanese and Israeli officials resumed U.S.-brokered talks in Rome aimed at implementing a framework agreement that envisions an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, the deployment of Lebanese troops, and the disarmament of militant groups. While Beirut is seeking progress through phased "pilot zones," deep disagreements over Hezbollah's arms and Israel's continued military presence have kept expectations for a breakthrough low.
Germany's economic situation has brightened somewhat halfway through the year after high energy prices caused by the war in the Middle East subsided after a framework agreement between the U.S. and Iran, said the economy ministry in its monthly report.
"Nevertheless, uncertainty regarding the further course of the conflict remains high in light of the new airstrikes in Iran," it said in the report published on Tuesday.
Charging fees for passage through international waters "would be fundamentally wrong", German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd said on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would reinstate a naval blockade on Iran and charge 20% on all cargo shipped through the Strait of Hormuz.
The company told Reuters it could not reliably quantify the financial impact of tensions in the Gulf region on its business.
A tanker was hit by a missile 13 nautical miles southeast of Oman's Limah, while transiting outbound of the Strait of Hormuz on the southern route, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said on Tuesday, dating the reported incident to 13 July.
Iran's oil exports are continuing as usual despite the cancellation last week of a 60-day waiver of U.S. oil sanctions, oil minister Mohsen Paknejad said on his official Telegram account on Tuesday.
Paknejad said the oil ministry had maintained mechanisms for years to neutralise the impact of U.S. sanctions and that Iran's oil exports would face no problems despite the removal of the waivers.
India has summoned Iran's deputy ambassador over the killing of an Indian seafarer in the Strait of Hormuz, an Indian government official said on Tuesday.
Iran executed two men convicted of being members of an Islamic State-linked militant cell and of armed action against the Islamic Republic, the Iranian judiciary's news outlet Mizan reported on Tuesday.
Mizan said Mohieddin Abdollahi and Hossein Palani were sentenced to death after their convictions were upheld by the Supreme Court, adding that the cell had planned attacks in Iran after operating from the Bamo heights along the Iran-Iraq border.
Iran rescued 23 foreign crew members after a bulk carrier collided with another vessel north of Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Tuesday.
The bulk carrier suffered serious damage to its hull and began taking on water, prompting the captain to order an emergency evacuation, Fars said, adding that all crew members were safely transferred to Qeshm Island.
A U.S. air base in Jordan was targeted by Iranian ballistic missiles on Tuesday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement published by Fars News, calling on the Jordanian people to dismantle American bases in their country.
"You know very well that not only do we not have any enmity with your country, but we also love you, the noble people, who understand the pain and oppression of the Palestinian people more than any other nation," the statement said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran will continue to oversee security in the Strait of Hormuz, responding to U.S. President Donald Trump’s remarks on potential fees for passage through the strategic waterway. Araghchi dismissed the proposed 20% charge as excessive while asserting Iran’s long-standing role in the strait’s security.
The image shows a live maritime traffic map highlighting the movement of numerous vessels across the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and Gulf of Oman. Red and green ship markers indicate active vessel positions, showing heavy shipping activity along key regional ports and trade routes. The map reflects the strategic importance of these waterways for global maritime transportation and energy trade.
Jordan said its armed forces intercepted and shot down four missiles that entered the country's airspace from Iranian territory, according to the state news agency.
The authorities did not immediately provide further details on the missiles' intended targets or report any damage or casualties.
The U.S. military said late on Monday its forces have completed their latest wave of strikes on Iran.
"During the five-hour mission, U.S. forces successfully struck military targets across Iran including Bushehr, Chah Bahar, Jask, Konarak, Abu Musa, and Bandar Abbas," the U.S. Central Command said in a statement on X.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Tuesday said two "offending supertankers" have been hit and disabled in the Strait of Hormuz after the ships ignored warnings, turned off navigation systems and attempted to pass through "a mined route", Iranian media reported citing a statement from the Guards.
The Guards, in its statement to Iranian media, said the U.S. was "inciting vessels to use an illegal route" and that cooperation with the "aggressor enemy" would result in damage, delays in reopening the strait and a global energy crisis.
Oil prices rose about 2% on Tuesday, with Brent crude reaching its highest level in four weeks, after the United States reinstated its naval blockade of Iran and both countries intensified military actions around the Strait of Hormuz.
The escalation, including Iranian missile strikes on two UAE oil tankers and renewed U.S. airstrikes, has heightened fears of disruptions to global oil supplies, driving energy prices higher.
The conflict escalated further after Iranian missiles struck two Emirati oil tankers, while Tehran said it had targeted a U.S. vessel and military facilities in the region in response. Explosions were reported across several Iranian locations, and Bahrain activated its air defence systems amid ongoing missile and drone attacks.
The United Nations' shipping agency criticised the proposed U.S. transit fee, saying there is no legal basis for imposing mandatory tolls on international straits. The intensifying conflict has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, pushed global oil prices sharply higher, and heightened concerns over regional security and global energy supplies.
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The 27 July edition of Daybreak covers a pause in fighting between the U.S. and Iran, the latest developments in Russia's war against Ukraine, and mass evacuations as wildfires continue to spread across France and Spain.
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