The US military says it has struck Iran again, hours after a tanker was hit in the Strait of Hormuz, in the worst escalation since the two sides signed an interim peace deal two weeks ago.

The renewed fighting came after the United States and Iran agreed to engage in peace talks, with the U.S. military calling it a "powerful response."

The US military launched strikes against Iran in retaliation for a previous attack by the Islamic Republic on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz