The United States launched a five-hour wave of strikes across southern Iran overnight, targeting military sites in at least six locations as President Donald Trump escalated Washington's campaign against Tehran despite insisting that an agreement remained possible.
Iran responded by firing ballistic missiles towards a US air base in Jordan, while fresh explosions were reported across southern Iran and tensions continued to rise around the Strait of Hormuz.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the operation struck military targets in Bushehr, Chabahar, Jask, Konarak, Abu Musa Island and Bandar Abbas.
It said US forces used precision-guided munitions against Iranian coastal defence systems, missile and drone sites, and naval capabilities, with the stated aim of weakening Tehran's ability to attack commercial shipping.
The operation marked the third consecutive night of US attacks on Iran as Trump reinstated a blockade of Iranian shipping and proposed charging vessels a 20 percent fee for US protection in the Strait of Hormuz.
Explosions reported across southern Iran
Iranian media reported explosions in several parts of the country during the US assault.
The official IRNA news agency said four new blasts were heard near Bandar Abbas, the coastal city overlooking the Strait of Hormuz.
Mehr News Agency reported explosions across Hormozgan province, including in Bandar Abbas and on the islands of Kish and Qeshm.
Fars News also reported explosions in Jam, a city in the southern province of Bushehr.
Mehr said some of the blasts in Hormozgan may have been linked to fighting at sea and in the Strait of Hormuz.
Local authorities in the southwestern province of Khuzestan said four people were wounded in a US strike on the city of Omidiyeh, while rescue operations were underway.
Jordan intercepts Iranian missiles
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Iranian ballistic missiles had targeted a US air base in Jordan.
The IRGC also called on Jordanians to dismantle American military bases in the kingdom and elsewhere in the region.
"You know very well that not only do we not have any enmity with your country, but we also love you, the noble people, who understand the pain and oppression of the Palestinian people more than any other nation," the IRGC said in a statement carried by Fars News.
Jordan's armed forces said they intercepted and shot down four missiles that entered Jordanian airspace from Iranian territory, according to the state news agency.
The Jordanian military did not immediately confirm that a US air base had been struck.
Trump threatens more strikes but says deal possible
Trump had warned before the assault that Iran would be hit "very hard".
"We're going to hit them hard tomorrow. And there's not a damn thing they can do about it," he told the Hugh Hewitt Show on Monday.
Trump also said Iran's leaders could do nothing to stop the attacks, adding that they had "nothing else in their interest but their nasty tongues".
Despite the escalating strikes, Trump later told reporters at the White House that an agreement with Iran was still "possible".
The White House also said Trump would deliver a televised address to the nation on Thursday, although it did not disclose what he would discuss.
The latest hostilities came after Iran said at the weekend that it was closing the Strait of Hormuz, casting further doubt on an interim agreement intended to halt the war.
Trump revives Iran blockade
"The Hormuz Strait is OPEN, and will remain OPEN, with or without Iran. We are reinstating THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
He said the US would from then on be known as "the guardian of the Hormuz Strait", but would charge a 20 percent fee on all cargo shipped through the waterway.
Iran's top joint military command said Washington had no role in determining the future of the strait.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi wrote on X that Tehran was the guardian of the waterway and would remain so "forever".
Responding to Trump's proposed fee, Araqchi added: "20% is of course too much. We will be fair."
Before the conflict began in February, around a fifth of the world's oil and gas traffic passed through Hormuz each day, carrying more than 15 million barrels of fuel worth at least $1.2 billion.
A 20 percent US fee on that cargo could generate around $240 million a day.
The UN shipping agency rejected Trump's proposal, saying it opposed fees on straits used for international navigation and stressing that there was no legal basis for mandatory transit tolls.
Oil prices rise as shipping comes under attack
Oil prices rose almost three percent on Tuesday to their highest level in four weeks as the US restored its naval blockade and attacks in and around the Strait of Hormuz increased uncertainty over global energy supplies.
The UAE Ministry of Defence said Iranian cruise missiles struck two Emirati oil tankers on Monday as they travelled through the southern lane of the strait in Omani territorial waters.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency separately said a tanker had been hit by an unknown projectile while travelling around 40 nautical miles northeast of Oman's Qalhat.
Reuters could not immediately verify whether the UKMTO report referred to the same incident reported by the UAE.
The IRGC said two "offending" supertankers had been hit and disabled after ignoring repeated warnings and turning off their navigation systems, according to Iranian media.
The statement did not identify the vessels or confirm whether they were the same tankers cited by the UAE.
The IRGC accused Washington of encouraging vessels to use what it described as an illegal route.
It warned that cooperation with the "aggressor enemy" would result in further damage, delay the reopening of the waterway and deepen the global energy crisis.
Cargo vessel evacuated near Qeshm
Iranian media also reported a separate collision between two cargo vessels north of Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.
Fars News said one of the vessels, which was carrying 23 foreign crew members, suffered severe damage to the middle of its hull and began taking on water.
The captain ordered the vessel to be evacuated, and Iranian maritime rescue teams transferred all crew members safely to Qeshm Island.
US blockade to cover Iranian coastline
The US Navy-led Joint Maritime Information Centre said the blockade of Iran would take effect at 2000 GMT on Tuesday.
It said the measure would apply to all vessel traffic regardless of flag and cover Iran's entire coastline, including its ports and oil terminals.
The centre said neutral ships travelling through the Strait of Hormuz to or from non-Iranian destinations would not be prevented from passing.
Humanitarian shipments would also be permitted, subject to inspection.
The US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February, prompting Tehran to launch strikes on Israel and Gulf states hosting American military bases.
US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israel's invasion of Lebanon during the war have killed thousands of people and displaced millions.