Jordan intercepts 4 Iranian missiles as US military ends five hours of attacks

A US air base in Jordan was targeted by Iranian ballistic missiles on Tuesday, as US forces completed their latest wave of strikes on Iran.

Jordan's armed forces said on Tuesday they intercepted and shot down four missiles that entered its airspace from Iranian territory, according to state news agency.

The five hours of US strikes were the third consecutive night of attacks against Iran as President Donald Trump reinstated a blockade of Iranian shipping and proposed charging a 20 per cent fee to guard the Strait of Hormuz.

The latest hostilities come after Iran said at the weekend it was closing the Strait of Hormuz, casting further doubt on an interim deal to halt the war and driving oil prices higher.

Before the conflict began in February, around a fifth of the world's oil and gas traffic passed through Hormuz daily, delivering more than 15 million barrels of fuel to global markets worth at least $1.2 billion. If the US were to impose a 20 per cent fee, it could generate around $240 million a day.

The UN shipping agency pushed back against Trump's proposal, saying it opposes any fees for straits used in international navigation and stressing that there is no legal basis for introducing mandatory tolls on strait transits.

Oil prices rose nearly 3 per cent on Tuesday to their highest in four weeks, as the US reimposed its naval blockade of Iran and the attacks in the Strait of Hormuz heightened uncertainty about energy flows.

The US Navy-led Joint Maritime Information Centre said a blockade of Iran would take effect at 2000 GMT on Tuesday and apply to all vessel traffic regardless of flag, covering the entire Iranian coastline including ports and oil terminals. It said the measure would not impede neutral transit passage through the strait to or from non-Iranian destinations, and that humanitarian shipments would be permitted subject to inspection.

The US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28 and Iran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states that host US bases. US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon during the war have killed thousands and displaced millions.