US-Iran war news Highlights: Trump drops proposed 20% Hormuz toll within 24 hours

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Tuesday to strike powerfully against Iran if it staged a new attack on his country.

"I will say it to the leaders of Iran: Do not count on things remaining quiet if you attack us," Netanyahu said at a conference. "The days are over when someone strikes us and we don't hit back with a decisive blow."

US strikes on Tuesday hit the port city of Bushehr, which hosts Iran's only civilian nuclear power plant, and an area near the border with Kuwait and Iraq, authorities said.

Abadan, which hosts the oldest oil refinery in the Middle East, and the port city of Mahshahr were also targeted, Khuzestan province deputy governor Valiollah Hayati said, according to state news agency IRNA.

Explosions were heard in Kuwait City, an AFP journalist reported, as the Gulf nation's army announced it was intercepting "hostile" projectiles.

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis said they shot down a Saudi-operated reconnaissance drone on Tuesday, a day after an exchange of hostilities erupted between the two sides for the first time in years.

The fighters "succeeded in shooting down an enemy Saudi 'Wing Loong II' reconnaissance aircraft while it was carrying out hostile missions at dawn today over Al-Bayda Governorate in the centre of the country," Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said.

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday told reporters that he thought Iran and Hezbollah will be added to the Russia sanctions bill currently under consideration by Congress.

Kuwait says its air defences currently responding to 'hostile' missile and drone threats

CNN has reported that 24 hours after proposing it, US President Donald Trump drops his demand for a 20% toll for cargo going through the Strait of Hormuz. Instead, he says, "Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States." Read more

Oil prices rose about 2% to a one-month high on Tuesday after the U.S. reimposed a naval blockade on Iran and as renewed attacks between Washington and Tehran heightened concerns over energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz.

Before the Iran war about 20% of global oil supplies flowed through the strait.

The US military's Central Command said it struck several areas in Iran, targeting "coastal defense systems, missile and drone sites and maritime capabilities." Iran acknowledged the strikes but provided no immediate casualty or damage assessments.

"These strikes will continue imposing a heavy cost on Iranian forces and degrade their ability to attack innocent civilians and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz," the US military said.

The US launched strikes on Iran early Tuesday, hours after President Donald Trump vowed to reinstate an American blockade of Iranian ports and charge ships for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran responded with attacks on Middle East allies of the US

West Asia expert Waiel Awwad on Tuesday denounced the Iranian strike on a UAE oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, which claimed the life of an Indian crew member, calling the attack against civilian and commercial ships "unfortunate," while blaming the US for violating the MoU signed between Tehran and Washington.

"This is the most unfortunate thing that there is; they are targeting civilian ships, commercial ships. But having said that, I would say it is the United States that violated the MoU signed between Iran and the United States, which clearly says that Iran will monitor the passage of the ships through the Strait of Hormuz and bring it back to its normalcy prior to the war on Iran. Right? So when they decided to follow that suit, what did the United States try to do? Manoeuvring, using the route of Muscat, Oman, and avoiding the Iranian side. Iran said we are in a time of war. So, in a time of war, you need to control. And they know that the United States' intention is to go to war, not to pursue a peaceful solution. That's what they have done," he said.

Gold pared losses after dropping below $4,000 an ounce on Monday, as rising tensions in the Middle East and remarks by a US monetary policymaker raised expectations of interest-rate hikes to curb inflation.

Bullion gained as much as 0.8% and was trading near $4,020 an ounce, after losing 2.9% on Monday. President Donald Trump reinstated a blockade of Iran and demanded a 20% reimbursement on other cargoes transiting the Strait of Hormuz, as the two countries resumed fighting. Oil and European natural gas prices spiked, fanning concerns about tighter monetary policy, which is typically a headwind for non-yielding bullion.

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller — until recently one of the central bank’s most dovish officials — said policymakers may need to raise rates in the near term if underlying inflation continued to signal broad price pressures. Swap traders are now pricing in more than a 40% likelihood that the Fed will hike interest rates in its next meeting at the end of July, and have fully priced in at least one hike by the end of the year.

Oman's Foreign Ministry said the country will continue its transparent and neutral engagement with all parties to help restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. It also called on all sides to respect and comply with international law governing navigation through the strategic waterway.

Germany's Hapag-Lloyd, the world's fifth-largest container shipping company, on Tuesday criticised U.S. plans to impose a 20% charge on cargo shipped through the Strait of Hormuz as "fundamentally wrong".

"It would be fundamentally wrong to levy fees for passage through international waters," Hapag said in a statement.

The German Shipowners' Association (VDR) said such a measure would be legally impermissible and would undermine the principle of free passage through international waters.

President Donald Trump is welcoming Iraq's new prime minister to the White House on Tuesday after strongly backing the political neophyte in his bid for office.

Ali al-Zaidi, a businessman with no political background, emerged as a consensus candidate in Iraq after months of deadlock over the premiership following last year’s parliamentary elections. When al-Zaidi was formally installed as prime minister-designate in April, Trump said in a social media post that it was the “beginning of a tremendous new chapter between our Nations — Prosperity, Stability, and Success like never seen before.”

But Trump’s interest and involvement in the next leadership in Iraq began long before that statement.

Iraq’s dominant parliamentary bloc, the Coordination Framework, a coalition of Shiite parties allied with Iran, initially said it would back former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whom the Trump administration views as too close to Tehran.

Dutch shipper Stolt Tankers says one of its ships was attacked off Oman in the Arabian Sea as Iran targeted vessels, reports AP.

Iranian state television on Tuesday reported that five explosions were heard around the port city of Bandar Abbas, near the Strait of Hormuz, which has been at the centre of renewed Iran-US fighting.

"A few minutes ago, five explosions were heard west of Bandar Abbas," the state broadcaster said, without providing further details.

Oil prices rose on Tuesday to their highest in four weeks, after the U.S. reimposed a naval blockade of Iran and renewed attacks between Washington and Tehran heightened concerns over energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude rose to its highest since June 12 and WTI to its highest since June 16 - before the United States and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding to end the conflict on June 17.

Brent crude futures were up $3.17, or 3.81%, at $86.47 per barrel at 0941 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $2.15, or 2.75%, to $80.29 a barrel.

The interim peace between the US and Iran effectively collapsed after American forces reimposed a naval blockade and launched another wave of airstrikes, while Tehran attacked more oil tankers sailing through the Strait of Hormuz.

US President Donald Trump’s decision to restart a blockade of Iranian ports overnight came after hostilities between the two sides worsened in the past week, with tensions centered on control of the strait.

Traffic through the all-important waterway has dwindled and oil has surged 20% since attacks rekindled, with Brent trading above $86 a barrel.