US President Donald Trump on Tuesday reimposed a naval blockade of all Iranian ports and threatened to hit power plants and bridges next week unless Tehran resumes negotiations, as the interim ceasefire deal unravels and concerns grow about a return to all-out war.

The US first imposed the blockade in mid-April and then lifted it in mid-June, a day after the signing of the interim deal aimed at permanently ending the war. The deal set a 60-day timeline to also negotiate an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program, but talks have stalled as fighting over the strait has intensified, with Tehran proclaiming last week it again closed Hormuz.

There are at least 19 US warships in the Arabian Sea, including two aircraft carriers and an amphibious assault ship with more than 1,000 Marines aboard. US Central Command also said in a social media post that there are “hundreds of military aircraft operating across the Middle East.”

Before renewing the blockade, US Central Command said it had carried out another wave of strikes. Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi, said in an interview aired Tuesday by IRIB, Iran’s state broadcaster, that the US was seeking to prevent Tehran from exercising what he described as “effective sovereignty” over the strait.

“US forces are holding Iran accountable for unwarranted aggression that continues to endanger innocent lives,” said Adm. Brad Cooper, who heads US Central Command.

According to Cooper, Iran intentionally attacked seven commercial ships over the past seven days resulting in “nearly a dozen” civilian crew members being killed, injured or going missing. He said Iran also launched dozens of missiles and drones at neighboring Gulf countries, including early Wednesday as Iranian forces claimed attacks on US positions at Jordan’s Azraq base as well as the targeting of weapons and storage facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait.

There was no immediate comment from the Pentagon or reports of injuries; material damage was reported in Kuwait from a fire caused by an Iranian attack.

“We’re going to hit them very hard tonight. We’re going to hit them very hard tomorrow night. We’re going to hit them very hard the night after, and........

© The Times of Israel