Arabic version: تصعيد الضربات بين الولايات المتحدة وإيران للسيطرة على مضيق هرمز
Fighting between the United States and Iran intensified on Monday as both nations asserted control over the Strait of Hormuz following a weekend of military strikes across the region. The latest violence followed an Iranian attack on a container ship in the strait off Oman, and the US carried out multiple counter-strikes.
According to SBS News, US Central Command (CENTCOM) launched a new wave of attacks targeting dozens of Iranian military sites, including air defence systems, radar, missile and drone facilities, and small naval vessels. US officials said the strikes followed an even larger operation that hit around 140 targets. Iran retaliated with attacks on countries hosting US forces — Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Oman — and the Revolutionary Guards said the strait would be closed “until further notice.” Ship-tracking data from Kpler showed only six vessels transited the strait on Sunday, the lowest number in five weeks.
Control of the Strait of Hormuz has become a key leverage point: an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader said control of the waterway was more important than “dozens of atomic bombs,” and the UN secretary-general warned that a return to full-scale hostilities would have “catastrophic consequences.” The sharp drop in transits, together with direct strikes on islands and coastal infrastructure, underscores how the fighting threatens trade routes and regional diplomacy.
Iranian state media reported at least 10 “enemy projectiles” hit Qeshm Island and further strikes on the island of Farur that it said killed a telecommunications worker and wounded two others. IRNA also reported US strikes had killed one person and wounded four at a water pumping station in Mahshahr. Iran’s Guards said they had also hit Oman; Oman summoned the Iranian ambassador and handed him a formal protest after the attack, a rare diplomatic move that came just hours after Oman had hosted Iran’s foreign minister to discuss the Strait.
What happens next: international mediators, including Oman and Qatar, are pressing for renewed negotiations, but with each side accusing the other of violating last month’s agreement the prospects for restoring both the ceasefire framework and meaningful talks appear increasingly uncertain.
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