The US military said it launched another round of strikes on Iran early Sunday, the third in recent days, after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps struck a container ship traveling through the Strait of Hormuz and declared the waterway closed until further notice.

Tehran later appeared to target Gulf states and an air base in Jordan, having threatened to expand its response to new US-related targets if it faced new attacks. It was unclear whether it would make good on its Friday threat to possibly target Israel as well if American strikes persisted.

The fresh hostilities followed a series of similar attacks over the past several days, which led US President Donald Trump to declare the end of a ceasefire meant to halt the fighting that the US and Israel began on February 28, though Trump has left the door open to continued negotiations.

The Revolutionary Guards Corps said multiple vessels “disregarded our warnings and instructions to correct their course and proceed along the approved route.” One of them “was struck by a warning shot and brought to a stop.”

Iran said that the strait would remain closed “until further notice.”

It warned that any retaliation over the incident would be met with a “severe response,” and said it would consider targeting “additional enemy bases in the region” if it faced more attacks.

US Central Command identified the targeted vessel as the M/V GFS Galaxy, a Cyprus-flagged container ship, saying it suffered significant engine-room damage and that a civilian crew member was missing.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said the crew of the container ship, damaged east of Oman, had abandoned the vessel and were in a lifeboat.

Central Command said its forces began a third round of strikes against Iran, a little more than an hour after the Revolutionary Guard statement. Iranian media reported explosions in several coastal areas along the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, including Bushehr, Asaluyeh and Chabahar. Three blasts were reportedly heard in Bandar Abbas and two in Sirik, with explosions also heard in Qeshm Island.

“The United States is imposing a heavy cost by continuing to degrade Iran’s ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the strait,” the American military said.

“Iran made a poor choice. Now they pay,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted on social media.

Senior US officials had previously said in Washington that negotiations to further cement last month’s deal to end the war will be unable to progress without the strait being secure —........

© The Times of Israel