US carries out new wave of attacks, Iran retaliates with strikes on Gulf

Iran's military warned on Monday that it would not allow the United States to "interfere" in the management of the Strait of Hormuz as hostilities with Washington resumed.

The spokesman of Khatam Al-Anbiya military command said in a video message that Tehran "under no circumstances will allow... the United States to interfere in the management" of the strategic waterway.

The spokesperson also warned Gulf countries that any cooperation with the US would be considered "an act of war".

An Iranian plane carrying a Houthi delegation back from Tehran has landed in Yemen, the rebels said Monday, after Yemen's government said it struck Sanaa airport to prevent the aircraft from landing.

Houthi broadcaster al-Masirah quoted the group's transport minister as saying "the Iranian plane has landed on the homeland's soil, carrying several medical patients and stranded citizens, accompanied by the official delegation of the Republic of Yemen".

It did not specify where the plane landed.

President Donald Trump said on Monday that the United States would probably take over the Strait of Hormuz and should be reimbursed for controlling the vital waterway.

"We're going to keep the strait, and we'll probably run it. We'll become the guardian of the strait. Maybe we'll call it the guardian angel of the strait. And we should be reimbursed for that," he said in a phone interview on Fox News' "Fox & Friends" program.

"We're going to guard it. We're going to get paid for guarding it—a lot of money," Trump said. "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 said.

After announcing the waterway's closure on Saturday following what it described as an unauthorised transit, Tehran said on Sunday that passage remained suspended, and that permits would be issued once "stability and calm" were restored.

"We had a deal. It was a done deal, and then they broke it. They always break it. We've had 10 deals with these people, and so we're just going to hit them very hard," Trump said.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said in a statement on Monday that the only way to restore regular shipping traffic through the strait was to end US military interventions in the waterway, and warned that "continued interference could lead to greater incidents in the global oil and gas sector."

Iranian television reported that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed to ships and that passage will only be allowed under Iranian arrangements.

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis on Monday said they would respond to an attack on Sanaa airport which they blamed on Saudi Arabia, but was claimed by the Riyadh-backed Yemeni government.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree accused Saudi Arabia of "ending the de-escalation phase and bearing full responsibility for the consequences of its aggression. We affirm that this aggression will not go unanswered or unpunished."

Defence minister from Yemen’s internationally recognised government, Taher al-Aqili, said in a statement that authorities will "respond appropriately" to "a breach of Yemen's airspace" by Iran and the Iran-backed Houthi group, which control the capital, Sanaa, and much of the north.

A statement issued by Rashad Muhammad Al-Alimi, meanwhile, chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), the internationally recognised government of Yemen, said there were repeated violations of Yemeni sovereignty in the incident.

"Despite the tireless efforts of our brothers and friends, and despite the mediations and good offices aimed at containing the situation, the Houthi militias insisted on proceeding with receiving a new Iranian flight outside the legal and sovereign frameworks governing civil aviation," the statement said. "This move reflects a deliberate disregard for state institutions and a blatant rejection of all efforts to prevent Yemen from sliding into further escalation."

Britain has proscribed Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a "terrorist organisation", Sky News reported on Monday.

The Yemeni channel Al-Masirah, linked with the Houthis, reported that Saudi Arabia is attacking Sanaa's international airport.

The European Commission said on Monday it had launched an initiative with 15 partners to deliver €883.6 million ($1 billion) in aid to Gaza.

It said the "Team Gaza Initiative", launched at the Palestine Donor Group meeting in Brussels, would support ongoing and planned early recovery projects for the people of Gaza.

Twelve European countries and Japan joined the initiative, together with the World Bank and the European Investment Bank, the Commission said.

The General Command of the Bahrain Defence Force announced that Iran continues its systematic hostile approach through its sinful attacks with missiles and drones targeting civilians in the Kingdom, announcing that it confronted, intercepted, and destroyed "several treacherous Iranian air attacks this morning."

It stressed in a statement that the deliberate use of missiles and drones to target civilians and private property is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.

European shares inched lower on Monday as investors assessed escalating hostilities between the United States and Iran, prompting Tehran to close the Strait of Hormuz and sending oil prices higher.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.09% at 640.54 by 0840 GMT, after logging its sharpest weekly loss since late April on Friday. The latest flare-up in the conflict raised questions over the viability of an interim agreement reached last month that aimed to restore traffic through the strait and pave the way for further negotiations.

Oil prices rose over 3% on Monday, lifting energy stocks on the STOXX 600 by 1%.

Consequently, travel and leisure stocks lost 0.6% and were among the worst-performing sectors, with Lufthansa, Ryanair and TUI falling between 1.2% and 2.3%.

New explosions have been reported in Iran’s southern city of Bandar Abbas and on Qeshm Island.

Iranian news agency Fars reported that a passenger plane belonging to Iran's Mahan Air landed at Sanaa airport in Yemen and took off again about an hour later.

According to reports, a meeting between Iranian officials and senior Houthi leaders is scheduled to take place in Sanaa.

Oil prices jumped more than four per cent on Monday after another flare-up between the United States and Iran that threatened their already fragile truce, while South Korean stocks plunged as tech firms were hit by a fresh rout.

The renewed hostilities followed last week's exchange of fire and came as negotiators struggled to reach a lasting peace deal to keep the crucial Strait of Hormuz open.

Both main oil contracts, which have tumbled since the announcement of the agreement, spiked as much as 4.5 per cent, fanning fresh concerns that inflation—already elevated because of the war—could force central banks to hike interest rates.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson says mediators are continuing their efforts to mediate between Iran and the US, including in recent days.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei also says Tehran is trying to reach an agreement with Oman on a joint mechanism for the Strait of Hormuz, but claims that US pressure on Oman has hindered efforts.

The deputy governor of Isfahan province said one person has been killed in a US attack on a military base in the city of Nain.

Seven people were injured and are receiving treatment "following an attack by the terrorist American army", Mehr news agency said.

It's the second death reported after Iranian media said earlier that one person was killed and four others wounded in a US strike on an agricultural water pumping station in Mahshahr.

Iran on Monday described US Senator Lindsey Graham, known for his hostile stance towards Tehran and his support for the war, as "malicious", a day after his sudden death at 71.

"Our people will not mourn a man whose philosophy on life was aggression and intimidation," said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei. "His entire being was malicious," he added, after several state television anchors welcomed Graham's death in broadcasts aired Sunday.

Iran is trying to agree on a joint mechanism with Oman for the Strait of Hormuz, but US pressure on Oman has hindered efforts, Iranian Foreign ​Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday.

Iran on Monday said it would no longer abide by the memorandum of understanding signed with the United States if Washington failed to uphold its commitments to end the war.

"Each time that the other party has failed to meet its obligations, we did not uphold ours... We will continue to act in this manner," foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told a press conference in Tehran, following the latest bout of hostilities between the foes.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot confirmed that European sanctions imposed on Iran will not be lifted before Tehran abandons its nuclear program, ballistic missiles and actions that "destabilise" the region.

Barrot said in an interview with BFM TV and RMC Radio, "The sanctions will not be lifted on the Iranian regime until it abandons its nuclear program, its revolutionary project that destabilises the region, and its ballistic missile program, some of which may one day be able to target Europe," and "until the Iranians are given the freedom to build their future."

EU foreign ministers on Monday discussed imposing an import ban on products from Israeli settlements, after pressure from a raft of member states.

"Everybody agrees that the situation in the West Bank is really intolerable," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said at the start of a meeting in Brussels.

"What is happening in the West Bank is actually making it more and more impossible that the two-state solution ever can come into effect."

Several EU countries—including Ireland, the Netherlands, and Spain—have already imposed their own trade restrictions on Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, considered illegal under international law.

Under pressure for the EU as a whole to take measures, the bloc's executive last week laid out options to curb trade with settlements, including a ban.

"There have been a lot of asks and requests from the member states regarding the ban of the trade with illegal settlements," Kallas said. "Let's see if these options that have been provided now will have a stronger push from member states."

Diplomats said the debate at a meeting in Brussels on Monday was not expected to yield any concrete decisions, but would help gauge whether there is enough support to move forward.

The slow pace of the discussion has angered countries keen to curb trade—with some diplomats accusing the European Commission of dragging its feet.

Belgium's foreign minister, Maxime Prevot, said the options laid out appeared to be more "a bone to gnaw on than a genuine desire to move forward."

"We are calling for concrete proposals," he said.

There is disagreement in Brussels over whether that move would require backing from all 27 member states or just a weighted majority.

Diplomats say that key players, Germany and Italy, are still undecided on the move.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the territory, excluding East Jerusalem, among some three million Palestinians. Israeli settlers and settlements' presence in the occupied West Bank is considered illegal by international law and virtually all states worldwide.

The number of vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz fell to multi-week lows on Sunday, according to shipping data, as renewed strikes between the US and Iran and attacks on ships heightened safety concerns.

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

Tankers that exited the strait included the Very Large Crude Carrier Humanity, laden with 2 million barrels of Iranian oil and another tanker, Capetan Andreas, carrying about 500,000 barrels of Kuwaiti oil products, the data showed, while three empty tankers entered the Gulf to load oil. Most of the tankers switched off their transponders when crossing the strait.

There were no liquefied natural gas tankers that entered the strait over the weekend that were visible on ship-tracking data.

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The Iranian Revolutionary Guard announced, in a statement today, Monday, that its forces targeted, with missiles and drones, “several large missile depots and fuel tanks at Prince Hassan Air Base in Jordan,” noting that fires broke out there.

The statement added that the Revolutionary Guards' aerospace forces targeted, in the second phase of their operations, "important centres for helicopter maintenance and repair, a hangar for a P-8 electronic warfare aircraft, and a command and control centre for drones belonging to the US Army at the Sheikh Issa base in Bahrain."

The Revolutionary Guard also announced that it targeted fuel tanks and a “Patriot” air defence system at the US Ali Al-Salem base, in addition to an “FPS” strategic radar system at the Ahmed Al-Jaber base, claiming that they were “completely destroyed.”

It said it targeted a US surface-to-surface missile base in Kuwait, “setting fire to two HIMARS missile launchers and missile-packed warehouses, completely destroying them”.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that it had carried out a new wave of offensive strikes against Iran, during which it struck dozens of targets in multiple locations using precision munitions, with the aim of weakening Tehran's ability to continue attacking international shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

CENTCOM said that its forces targeted Iranian military air defence systems, coastal radar sites, missile capabilities and drones, in addition to small boats.

CENTCOM added that the Strait of Hormuz is a vital sea lane for global trade, stressing that "Iran does not control it."

The US Central Command stressed that US forces are in a state of preparedness and readiness to ensure the continued freedom of navigation for commercial ships, despite what it described as "continuous aggression, harassment, threats, and arbitrary announcements by Iran."