President Trump has announced the U.S. is reinstating its naval blockade of Iranian ports as the U.S. and Iran move closer to a return to all-out war. The U.S. has carried out another night of strikes on Iran, with U.S. Central Command saying it targeted “coastal defense systems, missile and drone sites and maritime capabilities.” In addition, Trump has notified Congress that the U.S. is again at war with Iran, giving him another 60 days to attack Iran without congressional approval.

Iran retaliated by attacking U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Jordan. In addition, Iran struck two oil tankers from the United Arab Emirates. An Indian crew member was killed and several others injured.

While Iran maintains that it controls the Strait of Hormuz, President Trump announced a new plan for the U.S. to begin imposing a 20% fee on oil tankers and other ships passing through the strait. In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “The U.S.A. will be, from this point forward, known as 'THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT.'” Trump gave no details about how this would actually be accomplished. At the White House, Trump claimed the U.S. would end up controlling the entire strait.

President Donald Trump: “They’re wired differently, and we’re not going to put up with it. We are just going forward with attacking them tonight, and we’re taking out all of their capability for anything having to do with the strait, with the Hormuz Strait. And I think in the end we will end up just controlling the whole thing.”