Trump says U.S. is reimposing shipping blockade amid renewed Iranian attacks

chairman Donald ruff said on mon the United States was reinstating its block off of iranian language shipping in the Persian Gulf and would ensure the Strait of Hormuz stays open after the two sides exchanged more missile and drone attacks.

The latest hostilities followed an announcement by Iran over the ‌weekend that it was closing the strait, which cast further doubt on the viability of an interim deal to halt the war in the Middle East and drove oil prices higher.

Control of the strait, a vital route for global oil supplies, has become one of the main battlegrounds of the conflict. ⁠Iran's effective blockade of the strait has pushed up energy prices and increased concerns about inflation globally. The U.S. In mid-April announced a naval blockade on shipping to and from Iran but lifted the measure last month as Trump and the U.S. Heralded a memorandum of understanding to enable further negotiations with Tehran.

Trump said Monday he expected Washington to be "reimbursed" for its efforts, but offered few specifics.

"We're going to be reimbursed, because the other nations are very wealthy. They're on our side, and we can't be expected ‌to do that for nothing," he told Fox News.

Iran's top joint military command swiftly rejected Trump's remarks, saying the U.S. Had no role in determining the future of the strait.

Iran's Revolutionary ‌Guard said earlier in the day it targeted U.S. Military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait, destroyed radar systems in Oman, and struck fuel tanks and ammunition depots at Prince Hassan Air Base in Jordan in their latest response to another wave of U.S. Strikes.

Explosions were heard in the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas on ​the Strait of Hormuz and on nearby Qeshm Island, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported, citing local residents. Reuters ​could not independently verify the report.

Bahrain said its air defence systems intercepted and destroyed several Iranian missile and drone attacks early on Monday.

Iran targets Gulf countries after intense U.S. Strikes

American forces struck ‌a submarine and ​ship maintenance facility ​in Iran on ​Sunday using one-way ⁠attack ⁠drones, ‌U.S. Central Command said ⁠on Monday.

"Last night’s ‌strikes degraded Iran’s ability to continue attacking ​commercial ⁠shipping," Central ⁠Command ⁠said ⁠in ​a post on ​X.

The renewed violence casts further doubt on the future of an interim U.S.-Iranian agreement signed last month that aimed to reopen the strait and end the war after a further 60 days of negotiations.

The war that the U.S. And Israel launched against Iran on Feb. 28 has destabilized the Gulf, where Iran has struck U.S. Bases in countries across the region. Iran's effective blockade of the strait has driven energy prices higher and fuelled global inflation.

The Revolutionary Guard ⁠said in a statement on Monday that the only way to restore regular shipping traffic through the strait was to end U.S. Military interventions in the waterway, and warned that "continued interference could lead to greater incidents in the global oil and gas sector."

Brent crude rose more than 3 per cent on Monday on fears of disruption to one of the world's most important energy shipping routes, although prices remained below the peaks reached earlier in the conflict.

Higher prices, especially for gasoline, are politically sensitive for Trump ahead of November's congressional elections.

How is the reignited U.S.-Iran conflict impacting the global economy?

U.S. Officials said around 20 vessels had been escorted through the strait in the previous ​24 hours, though ship-tracking sites showed little traffic moving. MarineTraffic said on ⁠Monday that vessel activity through the strait declined by about 52 per cent over Friday to Sunday compared to the previous week.

Six vessels transited the strait on Sunday, ship-tracking data from Kpler showed, the lowest number in five weeks.

Iran has sought to establish a permanent system for collecting fees in the strait, which carried one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before the war, and has warned vessels not to sail ​without its authorization.

Iran's recently created Persian ⁠Gulf Strait Authority said on Sunday that passage through the strait was not currently possible due to "recent illegal movements of the United States military forces in the region." Permits ⁠would be issued "as soon as stability and calm are restored," it said.

U.S., Iran intensify attacks over Strait of Hormuz

The U.S., which revoked a licence that waived sanctions on the sale of Iranian crude last week following ⁠earlier attacks on shipping, said its forces were positioned to safeguard freedom ​of navigation despite what it described as "aggression, harassment, threats, and arbitrary declarations" from Iran.

The U.S. Navy-led Joint Maritime Information ​Center reiterated guidance that, despite a severe security ⁠threat, an "expanded" southern route near Oman was available for two-way traffic.

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