Trump, while ordering retaliation against Tehran, said he expected the latest military flare-up to end quickly and left the door open to more talks.US Central Command said the strikes were carried out to degrade the ability of Iranian forces "to threaten freedom of navigation" in the strait, through which a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas normally flows."The United States is holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping," CENTCOM said on X.Iran's Mehr news agency said explosions had been heard in the port cities of Bandar Abbas, Konarak and Chabahar.Before ordering the latest strikes, Trump said the ceasefire with Iran was over, prompting mediators Pakistan and Qatar and the United Nations to call for de-escalation.The Strait of Hormuz remains a flashpoint in the Middle East conflict, which began in late February with US-Israeli strikes that killed Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader who is to be buried in his hometown of Mashhad on Thursday.Tehran insists on controlling the strait, saying it will charge fees for passage and threatening to hit vessels that deviate from its authorised route.
Iran insists on controlling the strategic Strait of Hormuz © - / AFP
