Iran hostilities flare after US strike in strait of Hormuz; supertanker hits mines and catches fire

Welcome to our live coverage as hostilities between the US and Iran flared again for the first time in a month, with American strikes on Iran prompting retaliation from Tehran.

A supertanker caught ⁠fire and was brought to a complete ⁠halt after ⁠hitting two naval mines in ⁠the southern strait of Hormuz, Iran state ⁠TV reported on Monday, ​citing ‌a statement ‌from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The IRGC said the tanker had been attempting to pass through the waterway illegally. It ‌did not identify the vessel or provide information ​about its crew. It warned that other ships violating ⁠its security rules would face ​the ​same fate and ​said compliance with ​its regulations ‌for ​passage ​through the strait was mandatory.

On Sunday, the US said it carried out airstrikes on Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island in the strait, with an American official saying the IRGC was preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the narrow waterway.

The IRGC said on Monday it attacked two US military airbases with ballistic missiles in Washington-allied Jordan, causing “heavy damage”, state media reported. Jordan’s army said it had intercepted eight missiles, without stating their origin.

Iran said later it had targeted US military personnel at an airbase in the United Arab Emirates. Donald Trump later claimed on social media that Iran’s energy hub of Kharg Island was “being blown to smithereens”.

Iran’s supreme leader called the US and Israel enemies of all Islamic nations. In a written message issued six months on from the start of the war, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei also urged rulers of Muslim nations to “know your real enemy, understand its plans and confront it”, the official Irna news agency reported.

Israel’s Shin Bet security agency says it urgently evacuated prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s oldest son from the US due to a threat against him. In a brief statement the Associated Press obtained on Sunday, the Shin Bet confirmed there had been a “significant threat” to Yair Netanyahu, without elaborating.

US treasury secretary Scott Bessent will step up efforts to isolate Iran economically as he hosts G20 counterparts this week, a US official has said.

Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian is due to take part in a summit starting on Monday of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a regional bloc that seeks to be a counter-influence to the west. Russia’s Vladimir Putin is expected to hold separate bilateral talks with Pezeshkian and China’s Xi Jinping, among other leaders, a Kremlin spokesperson said.