US reimposes its blockade on Iran after Tehran’s attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: The US military early Wednesday reimposed a blockade on Iranian ports over Tehran’s attacks on ships trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, sparking new strikes on nations hosting American forces as an interim deal to end the war further unraveled.
Days of retaliatory strikes across the Middle East by Iran — and both nations’ attempts to vie for control of the waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas passes during peacetime — threaten to push the region back to all-out war.
The US first imposed the blockade in mid-April and then lifted it in mid-June, a day after signing the interim deal that set a 60-day period for negotiations over issues like Iran’s nuclear program, but talks have stalled as fighting over the strait has intensified.
When US President Donald Trump announced the return of the blockade Monday, he also said he would impose a 20 percent fee on ships passing through the strait. But he dropped the plan to collect fees hours before resuming the blockade, citing requests from allies in the Arabian Gulf.
