The U.S.military announced it will begin its blockade of Iranian ships over the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, as Iran vowed to assert its own control over the critical international waterway.CENTCOM said the blockade would begin on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
ET.The U.S.
military last worked to block maritime traffic to and from Iranian ports from April 13 to June 18.The announcement came after an intensified exchange of strikes over the weekend, testing a shaky ceasefire and threatening a return to all-out war in the region.On Monday, the U.S.
launched another wave of strikes on Iran.The U.S.
military said it struck Iranian defense systems, missile and drone sites and maritime capabilities to "degrade Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping."The Iranian Revolutionary Guard said Tuesday that it had struck "two non-compliant" supertankers in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a statement in Iranian state media.Iran also said it launched missiles and drones against U.S.
military infrastructure in Bahrain, which hosts the U.S.Navy's Fifth Fleet, and U.S.
military outposts in Jordan.The United Arab Emirates' defense ministry said two of its tankers were targeted by Iranian cruise missiles while transiting the shipping lane of the Strait of Hormuz in Omani waters, killing one person.Bahrain authorities reported that sirens were sounded and urged citizens to head to safe places.
Jordanian state media said the country's air defenses intercepted four Iranian missiles early Tuesday as they entered its airspace.The escalation comes as the U.S.and Iran reach a half point in the 60-day ceasefire agreed in June, when the two sides signed a 14-point memorandum of understanding to work out the terms of a final deal and open the Strait of Hormuz.During a NATO summit in Turkey last week, President Trump declared the ceasefire "over," but didn't rule out further talks.The truce all but collapsed over the weekend as Iran attacked a commercial vessel moving through the Strait of Horm...