Dubai/Cairo: US forces launched strikes against Iran for a ninth consecutive day on Monday as concerns mounted over the security of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz after Iran reported that two oil tankers had exploded and become immobilised.
US Central Command said it had begun “a new wave of strikes” aimed at degrading Iran’s ability to attack commercial vessels operating in the strategic waterway’s shipping lanes.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington would continue its operations while Iran targeted commercial shipping.
“The Strait of Hormuz is an international waterway,” Rubio said, adding that the United States remained open to a diplomatic solution.
The latest escalation follows the collapse of an interim ceasefire agreement signed a month ago, deepening a confrontation centred on the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global energy supplies.
Oil prices rose about 2 per cent on Monday, climbing above US$90 a barrel.
In the latest US casualty announcement, the US military said a service member was killed in northern Iraq during a controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian drone.