WASHINGTON/DUBAI, 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 on Monday 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.
The U.S. military said it struck Iranian military air-defence systems, coastal radar sites, missile and drone capabilities, and small boats, using aircraft, naval vessels and drones during operations on Sunday.
The renewed violence casts further doubt on the future of an interim U.S.-Iranian agreement signed last month that aimed to reopen the strait and end the war after a further 60 days of negotiations.
In a brief phone interview with Reuters on Sunday afternoon, U.S. President Donald Trump referred to the weekend's strikes on Iran. "We're beating them up," he said.
In the past week, Trump has said he considers the ceasefire over, while leaving the door open to more talks.
Iran's top negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, posted on X on Sunday: "The era of one-sided deals is OVER. We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking."
The war that the U.S. and Israel launched against Iran on February 28 has destabilised the Gulf, where Iran has struck U.S. bases in countries across the region. Iran's effective blockade of the strait has driven energy prices higher and fuelled global inflation.
The Revolutionary Guards said in a statement on Monday that the only way to restore regular shipping traffic through the strait was to end U.S. military interventions in the waterway, and warned that "continued interference could lead to greater incidents in the global oil and gas sector."
Brent crude climbed 4.3% to reach $79.31 a barrel on Monday, although it remained well below its peaks from earlier in the war.
Higher prices, especially for gasoline, are politically sensitive for Trump ahead of November's congressional elections.
U.S. officials said around 20 vessels had been escorted through the strait in the previous 24 hours, though ship tracking sites showed little traffic moving.
FLURRY OF STRIKES
Iran has sought to establish a permanent system for collecting fees in the strait, which carried one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before the war, and has warned vessels not to sail without its authorisation.
It said late on Saturday it had closed the waterway after firing a warning shot that struck a vessel travelling on an unauthorised route. On Sunday, it said it had disabled a second vessel.
Iran's recently created Persian Gulf Strait Authority said on Sunday that passage through the strait was not currently possible due to "recent illegal movements of the United States military forces in the region." Permits would be issued "as soon as stability and calm are restored," it said.
The U.S., which revoked a licence that waived sanctions on the sale of Iranian crude on Tuesday following earlier attacks on shipping, said its forces were positioned to safeguard freedom of navigation despite what it described as "aggression, harassment, threats, and arbitrary declarations" from Iran.
"Iran does not control the strait. Traffic is flowing," it said.
The U.S. Navy-led Joint Maritime Information Center reiterated guidance that, despite a severe security threat, an "expanded" southern route near Oman was available for two-way traffic.
On Saturday, U.S. Central Command said U.S. forces had hit 140 Iranian military targets, and that more than 300 had been struck over three nights this week "to degrade Iran’s ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial vessels freely transiting the strait."
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said at the weekend they had destroyed a command-and-control centre and drone hangars in U.S. ally Jordan, targeted a U.S. radar site and later rocket launcher systems in Kuwait, attacked U.S. aircraft carrier support and refuelling platforms in Oman and destroyed a jet maintenance centre and command facility in Qatar.
(Additional reporting by Enas Alashray, Ahmed Elimam, Eman Abouhassira and Andrew Mills. Writing by Stephen Coates; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
