US launches fresh strikes against Iran, Gulf states under attack

The US military has launched strikes on Iran after it struck a container ship on Sunday, while Tehran said it had closed the Strait of Hormuz again and some Gulf states announced they are under attack.

Iran said it closed the Strait after firing a warning shot that struck a vessel traveling on an unapproved route. It warned that any retaliation over the incident would be met with a "severe response."

US Central Command, however, said commercial vessels continue to transit through the waterway that carried one-fifth of the world's oil and LNG shipments before the war.

A series of attacks between the US and Iran over the past several days led President Donald Trump to declare the end of a ceasefire meant to halt the fighting that the US and Israel began on February 28, though Trump has left the door open to continued negotiations.

Central Command said US forces hit 140 Iranian military targets on Saturday, out of more than 300 during three nights of strikes "to degrade Iran’s ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial vessels freely transiting the Strait."

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said the crew of a container ship damaged east of Oman had abandoned the vessel and were in a lifeboat.

In response, the Guards said they had destroyed a command and control centre and drone hangars at U.S. ally Jordan, targeted a U.S. radar site in Kuwait, attacked U.S. aircraft carrier support and refueling platforms in Oman, and destroyed a jet maintenance centre and command facility in Qatar.

Qatar's government said three people, including a child, had been injured by falling shrapnel from the attack.

The United Arab Emirates said its defense systems engaged missiles and drones from Iran, while warning sirens sounded in Bahrain and explosions were heard in Doha. 

The UAE's National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority later said that missile threats detected earlier in the day were outside the country's borders.

Three missiles from Iranian territory landed in Jordan early on Sunday, causing minor material damage and no casualties, Jordan's state news agency reported.

Sites in Oman's Musandam region were targeted with drones on Sunday, its state news agency reported, without saying if there were any casualties.

One Indian national is missing after an attack on the commercial vessel GFS Galaxy off the coast of Oman earlier on Sunday, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said. "Of the 11 Indian nationals on board, 10 have been rescued so far, while one Indian National is reportedly missing," the ministry said, while condemning the attack.

Tehran's strikes marked a sharp escalation in pace and targets, after it had warned that any retaliation over the container ship incident would be met with a "severe response."

The war has destabilised the Gulf, while Iran's effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has caused energy prices to surge, fuelling global inflation and raising fears of an economic slowdown.

Higher prices, especially for gasoline, are a politically sensitive issue for Trump ahead of the November congressional elections.

Iran said several ships attempted to move through the waterway on an "unauthorised route" and disregarded warnings to correct their course.

The Strait, which was a conduit before the war for one-fifth of the world's oil and LNG supplies, will remain closed until "the end of US interference in this region," the Revolutionary Guards said.

Central Command said it began its strikes at 7:15 pm ET (2315 GMT) on Saturday, roughly an hour after the Iranians released their statement, which included a warning that "new enemy bases" in the Middle East would be targeted if the United States retaliated for the container ship incident.

They later stated that they hit approximately 140 Iranian military targets with precision munitions launched by land- and sea-based fighter aircraft and naval vessels. 

Trump ordered the strikes, Central Command said. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Washington demands that Tehran publicly state it will stop attacks on ships in the Strait, and that all lanes will be open without tolls, senior US officials have said.