The United States has launched a fresh wave of strikes against Iran, marking a further escalation in renewed hostilities, even as US President Donald Trump has said a deal with Tehran remains possible.
"We're going to hit them very hard tonight, and we're going to hit them hard tomorrow," Trump said.
Shortly afterwards, US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that strikes had begun, marking the third consecutive night of attacks.
"These strikes will continue imposing a heavy cost on Iranian forces and degrade their ability to attack innocent civilians and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz," CENTCOM said.
Trump also said the United States could still reach an agreement with Tehran despite the military escalation.
"Yeah, I think a deal is possible. Sure, I do," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
"We had a deal with them two days ago and then they said, 'Oh we can't make that deal. We have to negotiate it further.'"
The White House confirmed to AFP that Trump formally notified Congress last week that the US had resumed military conflict against Iran, allowing the Pentagon an additional 60 days to operate in the region without congressional approval.
Strait of Hormuz
CENTCOM also announced plans to reimpose a blockade on Iranian ports beginning at 2000 GMT on Tuesday.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the United States would be known as "THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT" and impose a 20 percent fee on cargo transiting the strategic waterway, while saying all countries except Iran would continue to enjoy free passage.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded on X, saying that while safe passage should be compensated, "20% is of course too much."
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the June memorandum of understanding that underpinned negotiations was "in crisis", but added that Tehran continued talks with mediators from Qatar, Pakistan and Oman to prevent further escalation.
Iranian state media reported deaths in the latest US strikes, while the Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted US military sites in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait.
