Iran hostilities flare after US strike in strait of Hormuz; supertanker hits mines and catches fire – Middle East crisis live

US and Iran trade strikes for first time in a monthWelcome to our live coverage as hostilities between the US and Iran flared again for the first time in a month, with American strikes on Iran prompting retaliation from Tehran.A supertanker caught ⁠fire and was brought to a complete ⁠halt after ⁠hitting two naval mines in ⁠the southern strait of Hormuz, Iran state ⁠TV reported on Monday, ​citing ‌a statement ‌from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.The IRGC said the tanker had been attempting to pass through the waterway illegally. It ‌did not identify the vessel or provide information ​about its crew. It warned that other ships violating ⁠its security rules would face ​the ​same fate and ​said compliance with ​its regulations ‌for ​passage ​through the strait was mandatory.On Sunday, the US said it carried out airstrikes on Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island in the strait, with an American official saying the IRGC was preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the narrow waterway.The IRGC said on Monday it attacked two US military airbases with ballistic missiles in Washington-allied Jordan, causing “heavy damage”, state media reported. Jordan’s army said it had intercepted eight missiles, without stating their origin.Iran said later it had targeted US military personnel at an airbase in the United Arab Emirates. Donald Trump later claimed on social media that Iran’s energy hub of Kharg Island was “being blown to smithereens”.In other developments: Iran’s supreme leader called the US and Israel enemies of all Islamic nations. In a written message issued six months on from the start of the war, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei also urged rulers of Muslim nations to “know your real enemy, understand its plans and confront it”, the official Irna news agency reported. Israel’s Shin Bet security agency says it urgently evacuated prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s oldest son from the US due to a threat against him. In a brief statement the Associated Press obtained on Sunday, the Shin Bet confirmed there had been a “significant threat” to Yair Netanyahu, without elaborating. US treasury secretary Scott Bessent will step up efforts to isolate Iran economically as he hosts G20 counterparts this week, a US official has said. Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian is due to take part in a summit starting on Monday of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a regional bloc that seeks to be a counter-influence to the west. Russia’s Vladimir Putin is expected to hold separate bilateral talks with Pezeshkian and China’s Xi Jinping, among other leaders, a Kremlin spokesperson said. Key events14m agoUAE denies Iranian claim that al-Minhad airbase was targeted in attack48m agoHead of National Iranian Oil Company dismisses Trump’s claim of Kharg Island attack1h agoUS and Iran trade strikes for first time in a monthAccording to Fars news agency, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, said after the US assault on Larak Island last night that: double quotation markThe foreigners must be cut off from the region and learn a serious lesson so that they do not repeat their aggressions. UAE denies Iranian claim that al-Minhad airbase was targeted in attackThe UAE’s defence ministry said in a social media post published two hours ago that the country’s air force intercepted an Iranian drone over its territorial waters on Monday. The ministry said the armed forces remain on high alert to combat any future threats.It came after Iran’s army ⁠said it ⁠launched a drone attack on US forces in ​the United Arab Emirates’ al Minhad airbase early on Monday. It said the attack was in ‌response to the US striking Iran’s Larak island, which sits very close to Iran’s coastline in the strait of Hormuz, on Sunday.The IRGC said the US attack on Larak island killed and wounded several soldiers and citizens and vowed “response and punishment”. A US official claimed the strikes were launched after “Islamic ⁠Revolutionary Guard Corps forces were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the strait of Hormuz.”However, in a second social media post this morning, the UAE’s defence ministry denied the claim that the al Minhad airbase in Dubai had been targeted with missiles, saying it was “unfounded”. Iran also said it had struck US military bases in Jordan in response to the Larak assault. As we mentioned in the opening post, Jordan’s army said it had intercepted eight missiles, without stating their origin.Head of National Iranian Oil Company dismisses Trump’s claim of Kharg Island attackHours after the attacks, the US president, Donald Trump, claimed in a social media post – featuring an AI video showing oil infrastructure exploding – that Iran’s energy hub of Kharg island was being “blown to smithereens”, without any supporting evidence.Hamid Bovard, ⁠CEO of ⁠the ​National Iranian Oil Company, mocked Trump’s post, saying that oil operations there are continuing.“Trump’s tweets are laughable and conditions in Kharg are calm and appropriate,” Nournews cited him as ‌saying, adding that the island had been bombed repeatedly by US and Israeli ⁠forces in the past, but oil ​workers ​had not ​allowed operations to stop “even ​for ‌a moment”.Kharg Island is a major Iranian energy hub responsible for handling about 90% of Iran’s crude oil exports, making it among the country’s most sensitive economic targets.Trump has previously threatened to seize the island, which hosts vast storage facilities, but has rowed back on his threats, perhaps knowing that any takeover would require the US to put boots on the ground, exposing American forces to Iranian attacks.locatorUS and Iran trade strikes for first time in a monthWelcome to our live coverage as hostilities between the US and Iran flared again for the first time in a month, with American strikes on Iran prompting retaliation from Tehran.A supertanker caught ⁠fire and was brought to a complete ⁠halt after ⁠hitting two naval mines in ⁠the southern strait of Hormuz, Iran state ⁠TV reported on Monday, ​citing ‌a statement ‌from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.The IRGC said the tanker had been attempting to pass through the waterway illegally. It ‌did not identify the vessel or provide information ​about its crew. It warned that other ships violating ⁠its security rules would face ​the ​same fate and ​said compliance with ​its regulations ‌for ​passage ​through the strait was mandatory.On Sunday, the US said it carried out airstrikes on Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island in the strait, with an American official saying the IRGC was preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the narrow waterway.The IRGC said on Monday it attacked two US military airbases with ballistic missiles in Washington-allied Jordan, causing “heavy damage”, state media reported. Jordan’s army said it had intercepted eight missiles, without stating their origin.Iran said later it had targeted US military personnel at an airbase in the United Arab Emirates. Donald Trump later claimed on social media that Iran’s energy hub of Kharg Island was “being blown to smithereens”.In other developments: Iran’s supreme leader called the US and Israel enemies of all Islamic nations. In a written message issued six months on from the start of the war, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei also urged rulers of Muslim nations to “know your real enemy, understand its plans and confront it”, the official Irna news agency reported. Israel’s Shin Bet security agency says it urgently evacuated prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s oldest son from the US due to a threat against him. In a brief statement the Associated Press obtained on Sunday, the Shin Bet confirmed there had been a “significant threat” to Yair Netanyahu, without elaborating. US treasury secretary Scott Bessent will step up efforts to isolate Iran economically as he hosts G20 counterparts this week, a US official has said. Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian is due to take part in a summit starting on Monday of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a regional bloc that seeks to be a counter-influence to the west. Russia’s Vladimir Putin is expected to hold separate bilateral talks with Pezeshkian and China’s Xi Jinping, among other leaders, a Kremlin spokesperson said.