US strikes Iran for 9th day; Iran says two oil tankers in Hormuz exploded, immobilised
US forces struck Iran for a ninth consecutive day on Monday as concerns mounted over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran claimed two oil tankers had exploded and been left immobilised.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had targeted US aircraft at Jordan's Aqaba Airport with ballistic missiles, as well as US military assets at Kuwait's Al-Adiri Camp and Ali Al Salem Air Base, in addition to facilities in Syria.
Sirens sounded across Bahrain on Monday morning, the country's Interior Ministry said, while Kuwait's military said it intercepted hostile drones during what it described as an Iranian attack.
The latest exchanges mark a further escalation in hostilities between the United States and Iran after an interim ceasefire agreement, signed a month ago, collapsed. The renewed fighting has intensified the struggle for control of the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting energy supplies and fuelling fears of rising global inflation.
In a statement, US Central Command said it had launched "a new wave of strikes" aimed at degrading Iran's ability to attack commercial vessels transiting the strategic waterway. It did not provide further details.
Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency, citing its reporters on the ground, said US missiles struck several Iranian cities early on Monday.
Explosions were reported in Tabriz, Chabahar, Konarak, Bandar Mahshahr and Bandar Imam Khomeini, according to the agency.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington would continue targeting Iran as long as it threatened international shipping.
"The Strait of Hormuz is an international waterway, and they continue to launch attacks against ships in that international waterway," Rubio said.
"As long as Iran insists on controlling an international waterway, we're going to have to respond to that. The United States always remains open to a diplomatic solution."
Iran claims attacks on US bases, says oil tankers damaged
Kuwait's government said a desalination plant came under attack for a second consecutive day, sparking a fire in what it described as a direct strike on critical civilian infrastructure.
Concerns over the flow of energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz have persisted since the United States and Iran resumed open hostilities after accusing each other of repeatedly violating the ceasefire.
Late on Sunday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it had received a report that a vessel was on fire off the Omani coast, although it could not verify the cause.
The Revolutionary Guards said on Monday that two oil tankers had exploded and been left immobilised after attempting to transit what it described as an unsafe southern route through the Strait of Hormuz. It alleged the vessels had been encouraged by the US military to use the passage.
Reuters could not independently verify the claim.
The IRGC statement did not identify the vessels, their flags, crews or whether there had been any casualties.
The Guards warned that the waterway would remain unsafe for shipping as long as what they described as US "aggression" in the region continued.
"This passage will not be safe for the transit of petrochemical products, nor even a single drop of oil and gas," the statement said.