More details are awaited after U.S. President Donald Trump said in a post that Washington was reinstating a naval blockade on Iran and would be reimbursed 20% on all cargo shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, the U.N.’s shipping agency said on Monday (July 13).
“We are aware of the post and awaiting more details,” a spokesperson with the U.N.’s International Maritime Organization said.
“We have always been consistent on our stance on fees – IMO stands firmly against charging fees for passage through straits used for international navigation. There is no legal basis through which to introduce mandatory tolls simply to transit through a strait.”
-Reuters
A small number of vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, despite the heightened security threats as Tehran and Washington battle for control of the strategic waterway.
Just 14 vessels -- half of which were commercial ships -- crossed on Sunday, according to data from maritime tracker Kpler, suggesting the waterway is not completely closed as Iran had announced.
At least three commodity vessels crossed so far on Monday (July 13), according to Kpler.
-AFP
The United States used one-way attack sea drones in combat for the first time to strike the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, the U.S. military said on Monday (July 13)
Three U.S. Corsair drones targeted “a submarine and ship maintenance facility” at the port on Sunday, marking “the first time American forces have employed sea drones in combat operations,” U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said on X.
The strikes -- which highlight the growing role of drones in US combat operations -- “degraded Iran’s ability to continue attacking commercial shipping,” CENTCOM said.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps accused the United States on Monday (July 13) of jeopardising global oil and gas supplies by interfering in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, as renewed hostilities flared.
IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebi said Washington had “seriously endangered the security of the world’s oil and gas supply and must be held accountable”, adding in a post on X that Tehran “will continue to exercise sovereignty over and management of the Strait of Hormuz”.
-AFP
The number of tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz fell in the past day to the lowest level in two months, shipping data showed on Monday (July 13), as renewed strikes between the U.S. and Iran and attacks on vessels heightened safety concerns.
Shipping industry sources said vessels were increasingly switching off their public AIS tracking transponders, making it difficult to determine the full number of ships crossing the waterway.
Based on available data, oil and gas tanker traffic fell to its lowest level since May 25, according to analysis from Kpler.
“Should the renewed escalation in the strait lead to another prolonged closure of Hormuz, the world will find itself in a much tougher spot,” ship broker Gibson said in a report.
-Reuters
An Iranian plane carrying a Houthi delegation back from Tehran has landed in Yemen, the rebels said on Monday (July 13), after Yemen’s government said it struck Sanaa airport to prevent the aircraft from landing.
Houthi broadcaster al-Masirah quoted the group’s transport minister as saying “the Iranian plane has landed on the homeland’s soil, carrying a number of medical patients and stranded citizens, accompanied by the official delegation of the Republic of Yemen”.
It did not specify where the plane landed.
-AFP
President Donald Trump said that the United States has reinstated its maritime blockade on Iran and would be paid for guarding the Strait of Hormuz after declaring that it would be “taking over” the strategic waterway.
“We are reinstating the THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE, so named because it is only stopping Iran’s ships or customers from entering or leaving. All other countries will have fair and open use of the Strait. The U.S.A. will be, from this point forward, known as “THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT,” but as such, and as a matter of FAIRNESS, will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The U.S. President’s comments came after US and Iranian attacks of a scale unseen since an April ceasefire in the conflict in the Middle East, adding to doubts about efforts to bring a permanent end to the war that has halted shipping through the strait.
The United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen on Monday (July 13) urged the Iran-backed Houthi rebels and Yemen’s internationally recognised government to turn to diplomacy after the government claimed responsibility for attacks on Sanaa’s airport.
“I am actively engaging with all actors and my Office has contacted military representatives from all sides. We are urging them to de-escalate and refrain from any actions that would risk a new cycle of violence in Yemen,” said Hans Grundberg in a post on his office’s X account.
-AFP
The Foreign Ministers of Germany, France and Britain condemned on Monday (July 13) Iran’s attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and on countries in the region.
“We condemn Iran’ heinous attacks on merchant shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and on countries in the region, including Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Jordan,” they said in a joint statement.
The group, which is known as the E-3, called for the restoration of the ceasefire and the resumption of negotiations between the warring parties.
-Reuters
Yemen’s internationally-recognised government said it struck Sanaa airport on Monday (July 13), as the Houthis blamed the government’s Saudi backer for the attack, in the biggest escalation in years between authorities and the Iran-backed rebels.
The government said it wanted to prevent an Iranian plane from landing in the Yemeni capital, after they failed to convince the Houthi delegation that went to Tehran for the late supreme leader’s funeral to board a Yemenia flight instead.
“The terrorist Houthi militias -- backed by the Iranian regime -- prevented Yemeni national aircraft from landing at the airport in the capital, Sanaa, while insisting on allowing an Iranian plane to violate Yemeni territory; consequently, the airport runway was targeted,” the Yemeni Defence Ministry said.
-AFP
The U.K. government announced plans on Monday (July 13) to ban Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign-backed threat to national security, in a “proscription-like” designation.
“Anyone found supporting or assisting these groups will now face up to 14 years in prison,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said of a proposed law to be presented to parliament this week. The banned groups would also include Russia’s GRU Volunteer Corps, part of Moscow’s military intelligence agency, and an Iran-linked group behind attacks on Jewish properties in London.
-AFP
The Iran-aligned Houthi movement that controls northern Yemen accused Saudi Arabia on Monday (July 13) of launching air strikes against the international airport in Sanaa, and vowed to retaliate.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree called the attacks “blatant aggression” and said it had ended a period of de-escalation in the long-running conflict. He said Saudi Arabia would bear the consequences and that the attack would not go unanswered.
There was no immediate response from Saudi Arabia to the accusations.
-Reuters
U.S. strikes killed two people on Monday (July 13) in southwestern Iran in an oil-producing region near Kuwait and Iraq, the Iranian Fars and Tasnim news agencies reported.
“At this time, two people have been reported dead and three wounded,” the agencies said, citing a Khuzestan province official, who mentioned strikes in “three different locations” on the outskirts of the city of Abadan.
-AFP
The United States and Iran each asserted on Monday (July 13) they controlled the Strait of Hormuz after a weekend of attacks stretching across the wider West Asia, further threatening any diplomacy to end the war.
The attacks, sparked by Iran striking a container ship on Sunday in the strait off the coast of Oman, again underlined that the waterway that once saw a fifth of the world’s traded crude oil and natural gas pass through it remained the key issue in negotiations.
The narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf has seen shipping disrupted since the start of the war as Iran maintained a chokehold on it by attacking commercial vessels around it, intimidating shippers.
-AP
West Asia has been rocked by U.S. and Iranian attacks of a scale unseen since an April ceasefire, as fighting over the strategic Strait of Hormuz threatened to derail efforts to permanently end the war.
As the U.S. attacks on Iran continued on Monday (July 13), Tehran said it would stop complying with a framework agreement to halt the fighting if Washington failed to meet its commitments.
It also responded with attacks of its own targeting Gulf nations, with the powerful Revolutionary Guards announcing new strikes on Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait and Oman.
“There is no doubt that this document is in crisis,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said of the June memorandum of understanding.
-AFP
Iran said Monday (July 13) it was continuing talks with mediators from Qatar, Pakistan and Oman in an effort to prevent any further escalation in its war with the United States.
“The role of the mediators is to continue their efforts to prevent an escalation of tensions,” said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei.
- Reuters
Explosions of unknown origin were heard in southern Iran near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday (July 13), a news agency reported, following an exchange of attacks between Tehran and Washington.
“Media and residents reported having heard on Monday at midday explosions near Bandar Abbas and the island of Qeshm,” Mehr news agency said, adding that the blasts “appear to be coming from the West Coast of Bandar Abbas”.
-AFP
Bahrain’s military on Monday (July 13, 2026) accused Iran of targeting civilians with its latest attacks on the kingdom, after Tehran said it had struck US military facilities and infrastructure there.
“Iran continues its systematic hostile approach through its heinous attacks with missiles and drones that target civilians in the Kingdom of Bahrain,” the general command of Bahrain’s military said in a statement, adding that air defences “intercepted and destroyed a number of Iranian aerial attacks” on Monday morning.
-AFP
The memorandum of understanding (MoU), signed by the U.S. and Iran on June 17, promising to extend the ceasefire and launch talks on Iran’s nuclear programme and Western sanctions, is falling apart. U.S. President Donald Trump has declared that the “ceasefire is over”. According to Tehran, parts of the MoU have been rendered “ineffective” by American actions. Both sides have accused each other of violating the MoU.
Explore Iran's determination to control the Strait of Hormuz amidst escalating tensions and U.S.-Iran negotiations.
Iran is trying to agree on a joint mechanism with Oman for the Strait of Hormuz but U.S. pressure on Oman has hindered efforts, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday (July 13).
- Reuters
U.S. and Iranian forces exchanged heavy missile and drone assaults, with Tehran targeting U.S. facilities in states across the Gulf and saying it had again closed the vital Strait of Hormuz, sending oil prices higher.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said today they targeted U.S. military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait, destroyed radar systems in Oman, and struck fuel tanks and ammunition depots at Prince Hassan Air Base in Jordan in their latest response to another wave of U.S. strikes.
The strikes were the latest in a cycle of attacks and counter-attacks as Iran seeks to assert control over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. However, the barrage marked an escalation in pace and range.
- Reuters
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards today claimed strikes against Bahrain and Oman, saying they destroyed radar systems in Oman and targeted U.S. military facilities on the southern edge of Manama.
“In addition to targeting U.S. military facilities and infrastructure in Juffair, Bahrain, where fires are raging, the navy of the Revolutionary Guards has... targeted and destroyed the long-range airborne FPS radar and the ship-detection radar in the Sultanate of Oman,” said a statement from the Guards carried by their Sepah news outlet.
- AFP
Bahrain sounds its missile alert siren for the third time as Iran retaliates over U.S. strikes.
- AP
Iran’s IRGC says it targeted U.S. military facilities in Bahrain and destroyed radar systems in Oman in the latest retaliatory attacks.
- Reuters
The number of vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz fell to multi-week lows yesterday, shipping data showed, as renewed strikes between the U.S. and Iran and attacks on ships in West Asia heightened safety concerns.
Six vessels transited the strait today, ship-tracking data from Kpler showed, the lowest number in five weeks.
Tankers that exited the strait included the Very Large Crude Carrier Humanity, laden with 2 million barrels of Iranian oil and another tanker, Capetan Andreas, carrying about 500,000 barrels of Kuwaiti oil products, the data showed, while three empty tankers entered the Gulf to load oil. Most of the tankers switched off their transponders when crossing the strait.
- Reuters
Jordanian military says it intercepted and shot down four missiles that entered airspace from Iran.
Jordan intercepted four Iranian missiles, reporting no casualties or damage amid escalating tensions in the region.
- Reuters
Kuwait’s armed forces said they were responding to “hostile aerial targets” today as Iran carries out strikes on U.S. interests in the Gulf.
“The Armed Forces are currently intercepting hostile aerial targets within Kuwaiti airspace,” the head of Kuwait’s army said in a statement published by the state-run news agency KUNA.
- AFP
Bahrain sounds its missile alert sirens for a second time as Iran retaliates over U.S. airstrikes.
- AP
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had struck U.S. military targets and airbases, including Ali Al Salem in Kuwait, reported the official news agency IRNA.
-AFP
Iran’s IRGC says it hit a U.S. base at Sheikh Isa in Bahrain in the second phase of the retaliatory operation.
- Reuters
Oil prices jumped more than 4% today after another flare-up between the United States and Iran that threatened their already fragile truce, while Seoul led losses in most Asian stock markets as tech firms suffered another selloff.
The renewed hostilities in West Asia followed last week’s exchange of fire and came as negotiators struggle to reach a lasting peace deal to keep the crucial Strait of Hormuz open.
The US military launched a new wave of strikes yesterday after renewed fighting over the waterway saw several of Washington’s Gulf allies targeted by incoming fire.
- AFP
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has said that it has completed a new wave of offensive strikes against Iran, hitting dozens of targets at multiple locations with precision munitions to degrade Iran’s ability to continue attacking international shipping flowing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s IRGC says it set fuel tanks, ammunition depots on fire at Prince Hassan Air Base in Jordan by firing missiles and drones.
- Reuters
Iran’s IRGC says the retaliatory operation is continuing.
Iran’s IRGC says the IRGC Navy last night conducted an operation to stop two violating ships endangering shipping in the Strait of Hormuz by shutting down their systems.
- Reuters
Iran’s IRGC says the strike was the first phase of the response to the U.S. attacks on Iranian coastal bases.
- Reuters
Air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain today, the Interior Ministry said, instructing residents to take shelter following attacks on the island nation as Iran targets U.S. interests in the Gulf.
“The siren has been sounded... citizens and residents are urged to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place,” the Ministry of Interior posted on X.
- AFP
U.S. strikes killed one person and wounded four in southwestern Iran, state media reported today.
“Following the attack of the American enemy on Monday morning... one person was martyred and four others were injured,” official news agency IRNA reported, citing Khuzestan province’s deputy governor for security and law enforcement, Valiollah Hayati.
- AFP
One killed, four wounded in U.S. strikes at a water pumping station in Iran’s Mahshahr, says IRNA news agency.
- AFP
The U.S. military yesterday said it had launched a new wave of attacks against Iran, after renewed fighting over the Strait of Hormuz saw several of Washington’s Gulf allies targeted by incoming fire.
The latest salvo by U.S. forces began at 2100 GMT yesterday, Central Command (CENCTOM) said on X, after earlier announcing approximately 140 strikes the previous night.
The flare-up is the latest to undermine an interim agreement between Washington and Tehran aimed at ending their war, which has caused global economic shockwaves since it began in late February.
Oil prices, which have tumbled since the announcement of the agreement, rose over 3.5% when futures trading opened today in Tokyo, with the U.S. benchmark WTI jumping above $74 a barrel.
- AFP
Published - July 13, 2026 06:38 am IST