The U.S. military carried out a third consecutive night of strikes against Iran on Monday and two tankers came under fire in the Strait of Hormuz, after President Donald Trump said the United States was reinstating its blockade of Iranian shipping in the Gulf and would ensure that the strategic waterway stayed open - for a fee.
U.S. Central Command said it began strikes at Trump's direction just after the U.S. president told the Hugh Hewitt Show that Iran would be hit "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 later told reporters at the White House that the U.S. was attacking Iranian capabilities in the strait. Soon after, the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Defense said Iranian cruise missiles struck two Emirati oil tankers, the Mombasa and Al Bahiyah, while transiting the southern lane of the strait in Omani territorial waters, killing one crew member and injuring eight others.
