US-Iran war highlights: Trump threatens to 'knock out' Iran's power plants, bridges as US resumes Iranian ports blockade

US-Iran war news LIVE: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva criticised US President Donald Trump’s plan to impose a 20% fee on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, calling it "piracy".

Speaking in Sao Paulo, Lula said, "Back in the day, that used to be called piracy," adding that the United States, which has historically fought against piracy, "cannot now become a pirate itself."

US-Iran war news LIVE: Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it targeted a US air base in Jordan with ballistic missiles, according to Fars News Agency, Reuters reported. The claim comes amid a series of Iranian missile and drone attacks on US-linked targets across the region following renewed American strikes on Iran.

US-Iran war news LIVE: Trump has formally notified Congress that the Pentagon has resumed military strikes against Iran, according to multiple media reports.

In a letter to Congress on July 10, Trump said the strikes began on July 7 and represent “military action consistent with my responsibility to protect Americans and United States’ interests both at home and abroad,” according to the CBS and Politico outlets.

Under the 1973 War Powers Resolution, the president is required to inform Congress within 48 hours of military action, while operations without congressional approval must end within 60 days. The US and Iran had agreed to a ceasefire in April.

US-Iran war news LIVE: Jordan's military said it intercepted four missiles launched by Iran, according to the Associated Press.

US-Iran war news LIVE: Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed it launched missile and drone strikes targeting the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.

In a statement, the IRGC said the attacks set fire to fuel depots at the base and destroyed a Patriot radar, air control radar, a C-RAM early warning system, and the control and monitoring centre for unmanned surface vessels. It added that the "retaliatory operation continues."

Iran news LIVE: Iran moved several sanctioned oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz in the days leading up to the US decision to reinstate a blockade of Iranian ports, according to a Bloomberg report based on ship-tracking data.

The report said six US-sanctioned supertankers, capable of carrying a combined 12 million barrels of crude, crossed into the Gulf of Oman with their transponders switched off after Washington revoked temporary permission for Iranian oil sales on July 7.

Bloomberg said Iran exported about 57 million barrels of crude between the two US naval blockades, while ship traffic through the Strait has slowed sharply as tensions between Washington and Tehran continue to escalate.

Iran news LIVE: The Indian rupee weakened past the 96-per-dollar mark on Tuesday for the first time since May 22, as a sharp rise in crude oil prices following renewed US-Iran hostilities weighed on the currency. The rupee fell nearly 0.5% to 96.0775 against the US dollar, while Brent crude traded around $84.6 a barrel, up nearly 11% this week. Indian equities also came under pressure, with the Nifty 50 declining 0.6% amid broader weakness across regional markets.

Iran news LIVE: India's external affairs minister S Jaishankar said India would prioritise a free, open and rule-based maritime order, including the safety of seafarers, if elected to the UN Security Council for the 2028-29 term.

This comes after at least 15 seafarers, mostly Indians, were killed since the US-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28. (PTI)

Iran news LIVE: US Representative Jamie Raskin has called for the immediate release of Palestinian paediatrician Hussam Abu Safia, who was detained after being taken from a Gaza hospital on December 27, 2024. In a post on X, Raskin said Abu Safia was being held "with no charges, no trial and no due process" and was "reportedly tortured" in an Israeli prison. He added that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government "must immediately release him from these lawless, horrific and life-threatening conditions."

Iran news LIVE: A missile struck a site belonging to an Iranian Kurdish opposition group east of Erbil in northern Iraq, according to Reuters, citing security sources. No casualties were immediately reported following the attack, the sources said.

Iran news LIVE: Global markets remained under pressure on Tuesday as fresh US strikes on Iran and Tehran's retaliatory attacks fuelled concerns over energy supplies and inflation. Oil prices extended gains after surging more than 9% in the previous session, while technology stocks continued to decline, led by South Korea's SK Hynix.

Investor sentiment was also weighed down by uncertainty over US President Donald Trump's proposal to impose a 20% charge on cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Traders are now focused on upcoming US inflation data, Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's congressional testimony and the start of the earnings season for further direction. (AFP)

Iran news LIVE: Trump said Gulf countries hosting American military bases should reimburse Washington for protecting them against Iranian attacks.

"I want to be reimbursed because we are protecting a very rich portion of the world. We are spending money," Trump said.

He added that the US should be compensated by countries it was helping, naming Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait. The remarks came as Iran launched missile attacks targeting US bases in several Gulf states.

Iran news LIVE: At least 15 seafarers, many of them Indian nationals, have been killed in attacks in and around the Strait of Hormuz since the US-Israel began their war on Iran on February 28, according to the latest figures.

The toll includes an Indian crew member killed in an Iranian attack on a UAE oil tanker near Oman on Tuesday, which also injured eight others.

Last month, the United Nations said at least 14 seafarers had been killed in attacks in the region up to that point.

Among the earlier incidents were the deaths of an Indian crew member aboard the MKD Vyom on March 1, two Indian sailors on the Skylight tanker the same day, another Indian sailor in a dhow fire near the Strait on May 8, and three Indian crew members killed in a US strike on the Settebello oil tanker off Oman on June 9. (Al Jazeera)

Iran news LIVE: US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it completed its latest wave of strikes against Iran at 10:15 pm ET on July 13 (7:45 am IST on July 14).

During the five-hour mission, US forces struck military targets in Bushehr, Chabahar, Jask, Konarak, Abu Musa and Bandar Abbas, targeting Iran's coastal defence systems, missile and drone sites, and maritime capabilities to reduce its ability to attack commercial shipping.

CENTCOM also said that more than 50,000 US service members are currently deployed across the Gulf and that American forces remain "vigilant, lethal, and ready."

Iran news LIVE: Iranian foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi responded to US President Donald Trump's proposal to charge a 20% fee for securing commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. He said Iran has always been the waterway's "guardian" and would remain so "forever".

In a post on X, Araghchi said, "POTUS is absolutely right. Whoever provides secure and safe passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz should be compensated for this service." He added, "Iran has always been the GUARDIAN of the Strait and will remain so FOREVER. 20% is of course too much. We will be fair."

Iran news LIVE: The IRGC claimed it carried out missile and drone strikes on US military facilities at Bahrain's Al Juffair base. In a statement, the IRGC said it targeted "several weapons storage depots, a satellite communications center, and a building housing US forces" as part of the second phase of its retaliation campaign. It added that the operation, codenamed "Nasr 2", was ongoing.

Iran news LIVE: Oil prices climbed about 2% on Tuesday to their highest levels in four weeks as the United States and Iran continued exchanging attacks, raising concerns over potential disruptions to global energy supplies.

Brent crude futures rose $1.68, or 2%, to $84.98 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained $1.65, or 2.1%, to $79.79 a barrel as of 00:51 GMT. The gains followed Monday's sharp rally, when Brent surged 9.6%, its biggest single-day increase since May 2020.

Iran news LIVE: Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed it targeted multiple US military facilities at Bahrain's Juffair base. In a statement, the IRGC said it hit weapons warehouses, a satellite communications centre and a housing building used by US forces at the base.

Iran news LIVE: Fresh US strikes have hit areas of Bushehr province in southern Iran, according to Iran's Nour News.

Iran news LIVE: Trump said the US was launching another "very major attack" on Iran, while claiming Tehran had returned to the negotiating table. "We're doing another very major attack tonight (on Iran). They want to make a deal. They came back. We made a deal 2 days ago," Trump said. He added, "They've been negotiating for 47 years, but nobody's ever hit them militarily. We're hitting them very hard."

Iran news LIVE: Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned that any cooperation with what it called the "aggressor enemy" in the Strait of Hormuz would delay the reopening of the strategic waterway and could trigger a global energy crisis.

Iran news LIVE: As the US launched another wave of strikes on Iran, Trump outlined Washington's military objectives.

Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt that the US would “hit them very hard tonight, and we're going to hit them hard tomorrow”.

Speaking about the MoU signed between Washington and Tehran, Trump said Iran "didn't honour the test". Although he said on Monday that the agreement "didn't mean much", he had previously described it as a deal that would end the war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

Trump also told reporters that the US would ultimately control the Strait of Hormuz and said the war on Iran was moving "very fast". He described it as a "military skirmish" and insisted the latest bombing campaign was not the start of a prolonged war.

The US president also said Washington should be reimbursed by "the countries that we're helping" in the war, naming regional allies including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.

Iran news LIVE: At least a dozen US military aircraft were tracked flying over the Gulf region early Tuesday as US Central Command (CENTCOM) launched a fresh wave of strikes on Iran for a third consecutive night.

Flight tracking data showed nine KC-135R and two KC-46A aerial refuelling tankers operating over the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and Saudi Arabia, as per CNN. Several surveillance aircraft, including an E-3B Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft and a US Navy P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, were also visible.

The E-3B Sentry is capable of monitoring up to 120,000 square miles of airspace and tracking around 600 targets simultaneously, including aircraft, missiles, drones and ground vehicles. The aerial refuelling tankers are used to keep fighter jets and other combat aircraft airborne during extended operations by allowing them to refuel mid-air.