The United States launched a third consecutive night of strikes on Iran on Monday, accelerating a campaign that has unfolded in waves since early July. President Trump announced plans to enforce a naval blockade around Iranian ports and impose a 20% tariff on cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz The Guardian. US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the operation aimed to impose "a heavy cost on Iranian forces" and degrade Tehran's ability to attack shipping in the strait.

The bombing campaign has grown in scope each time. CENTCOM reported around 80 targets hit on July 7, roughly 90 on July 7-8, nearly 140 in the round completed July 11, followed by another wave July 12 using manned aircraft and cruise missiles CENTCOM. Monday's strike included an unmanned attack drone that reached a submarine and ship maintenance facility at Bandar Abbas.

Trump spoke to radio host Hugh Hewitt in language meant to signal resolve: "We're going to hit them very hard tonight and we're going to hit them hard tomorrow – and there's not a damn thing they can do about it." He added that Iran's power is overstated, and on Truth Social described the US goal as becoming the "guardian of the strait of Hormuz" The Guardian.

The blockade represents a sharp reversal from the agreement announced last month. In June, the White House publicized a "Historic US-Iran MOU," saying it would keep Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons while reopening the Strait of Hormuz to unrestricted traffic White House. Trump posted that "the Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete" and authorized free passage. That understanding has collapsed. The Joint Maritime Information Center, the Navy-led body overseeing Gulf shipping, announced Monday that a blockade covering all Iranian ports, oil terminals, and coastal areas would take effect Tuesday night, with warning that vessels entering or leaving without authorization "is subject to interception, diversion and capture" and "may be legally compelled with force" The Guardian. The center specified that neutral transit to non-Iranian destinations would not be blocked — protecting the tanker traffic serving Saudi, Emirati, and Qatari terminals that share the strait.

The 20% transit fee creates a legal puzzle. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last month that "no country is allowed to charge tolls or fees on an international waterway," calling it "existing international law" The Guardian. Whether a US-imposed fee differs legally from an Iranian toll—the very practice Washington has condemned—is unclear. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) said it is still analyzing Trump's proposal while reiterating its opposition to fees on international waterways.

Iran's position is that the United States has no authority to control the strait. IRGC spokesperson Hossein Mohebi said Washington had "seriously endangered the security of the world's oil and gas supply and must be held accountable," and pledged Iran would "continue to exercise sovereignty over and management of the strait of Hormuz" The Guardian. Reuters reported that Iran declared the Hormuz closed after a vessel was struck, and that the IRGC expanded attacks on US-linked facilities across the Gulf, with air-raid sirens sounding in Bahrain as missile and drone fire continued Reuters. The US military stated its latest strikes had concluded and that Tehran does not control the strait regardless of its declarations AP.

Oil markets reacted sharply. Brent crude rose 7.8% Monday to $81.92 a barrel, far below the roughly $120 peak earlier in the conflict but a sharp jump from the price stability that followed June's agreement The Guardian.

The timeline reveals how quickly positions shifted. In April, the White House announced Trump had directed a blockade to counter Iranian aggression White House; by June it was declaring the strait fully reopened under the new agreement; by July 5, Washington was demanding Iran publicly promise the strait would remain open and pledge not to attack ships AP; by July 7, after three ships were attacked, the US revoked an Iranian oil sales permit and resumed strikes AP. Both sides now blame the other for destroying the interim deal, each asserting control over the same 33-kilometer channel through which roughly a fifth of global oil normally passes.

What remains unresolved is whether a unilateral American blockade paired with a transit tariff actually reduces tensions or escalates them. CENTCOM frames the campaign as protecting "innocent civilians and commercial shipping," yet the policy taxes the very shipping it claims to defend. Gulf shipping companies, insurance firms, and the IMO are likely to demand clarity before Tuesday's enforcement begins.