This article was originally published by Tyler Durden at ZeroHedge.
The battle for Hormuz has ramped up after the United States has undertaken three consecutive nights of major bombing raids against Iranian targets.
All the while, President Trump is said to be “very serious” about his plan to impose a 20% toll on cargo transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, a Semafor report says, citing a White House official who says the president has desired such a plan for months. Both warring sides are insisting that it is their side alone that will be the ‘guardian’ over the strait.
AFP/Getty Images
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, took some jabs at the proposed US plan soon after Trump unveiled it on Truth Social.
“POTUS is absolutely right. Whoever provides secure and safe passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz should be compensated for this service,” Araghchi wrote on X. “20% is, of course, too much. We will be fair,” he added.
Below: ongoing reports that the Houthis are entering the war after Monday’s missile attacks on the kingdom:
The same day, a clip of Secretary of State Marco Rubio from late June insisting that “no country” can extract tolls went viral. “That’s the law. It’s an international waterway. No country is allowed to charge tolls or fees on an international waterway,” Rubio said.
“That’s existing international law. That’s the way it is in international waterways all over the world, and that’s the way we’ll expect it to be here.” He added: “I think all the countries in this region would agree.”
Meanwhile, Iranian sources continue to warn the West, also with dramatic images of tankers exploding:
German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd also agrees that charging fees for what is in reality international waters and thus under the control of no single nation “would be fundamentally wrong”.
Even amid a relentless bombing campaign, Iranian forces have not shown signs of backing off from the enforcement of their navigation protocol.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has on Tuesday newly “targeted and disabled” two supertankers for switching off navigation systems, which involved “ignoring warnings and endangering navigation,” according to Tasnim.
Al Jazeera reports early Tuesday, “It’s been an active night and morning for air defense systems in several countries in this region because of missiles and projectiles fired from Iran.”
“This has affected the ship traffic passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Yesterday, we saw the lowest number of ships passing in five weeks,” it continues, adding, “There were only six ships. The day before that, there were 14.”
At least three tankers have been struck overnight into Tuesday, with among them:
The tanker Stolt Magnesium has caught fire after the “explosion of an unidentified external device” as it was sailing in the Arabian Sea off Oman, its manager, Stolt Tankers, says.
The incident occurred at 12:40am (20:40 GMT on Monday) and caused a fire in the vessel’s engine room, the company said in a statement.
The UAE and Gulf allies have strongly condemned the ‘brazen’ attacks on international shipping.
There are growing deaths among seafarers in what’s obviously the world’s most dangerous and volatile energy transit water way. India has formally summoned Iran’s deputy ambassador after an Indian sailor was killed.
According to the UAE defense ministry, the casualty occurred when two Iranian cruise missiles targeted two UAE vessels in the crucial shipping lane, leaving one Indian national dead and eight others wounded.
More latest developments
via Newsquawk…
- US President Trump reiterated that Iran has no air force, no navy, and no military, while he said they will hit Iran very hard on Monday night and on Tuesday. Trump said they had a deal yesterday and that Iran breaks deals, as well as commenting that the MoU was built to test Iran and that Iran didn’t honor it. Trump also stated that they will hit ‘Pickaxe Mountain’ pretty soon and have their eyes on the site all the time, which is a good potential target
- US Central Command announced that it conducted and completed a third consecutive night of strikes against Iran, with US strikes reported in Bushehr, Bandar Abbas, and Bandar Kangan, while explosions were also reported in Iran’s Qeshm Island and Kish Island. More recently, there have been reports of explosions heard near Bandar Abbas, Bushehr, and Choghadak.
- Details of US President Trump’s proposed Strait of Hormuz toll plan are still being finalized, according to Semafor, which says Trump is ‘very serious about the tolls.
- Iran’s armed forces have begun targeting US naval vessels in the Strait of Hormuz with cruise missiles, Al Mayadeen reported.
- Iranian Army Spokesperson said the Strait of Hormuz will not be opened to US aggression and war, SNN reported.
- IRGC said it targeted weapons warehouses, satellite communications centers, and US forces’ housing buildings at Bahrain’s Juffair base. Iran’s army also targeted US military facilities and equipment in Kuwait with drones, as well as targeted a ‘hostile’ US vessel with cruise missiles, while it was separately reported that a US military base in Jordan was hit by a missile attack and that a missile attack hit an Iranian Kurdish opposition group site east of Iraq’s Erbil.
- UKMTO received a report that a tanker was hit by an unknown projectile 40NM northeast of Qalhat, Oman. UKMTO reports of an incident 13NM southeast of Lima, Oman, the tanker was reportedly hit by a missile transiting outbound on the southern route
- The UAE Defense Ministry reported that two national tankers were targeted by Iranian cruise missiles in the southern Strait of Hormuz, with the incident occurring in Omani territorial waters, although the fires on both tankers were brought under control, and it reserved the right to respond to the escalation.
- ADNOC confirmed tankers “Al Bahyah” and “Mombasa B” were hit in the Strait of Hormuz.
- Oman’s Foreign Minister said complex talks are under way to make a long-term arrangement to guarantee freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
Read the full article here
