Middle East live: US strikes Iran for third night as Trump says deal still ‘possible’

14/07/2026 – 02:02

Brazil’s Lula calls US plan for Hormuz fee ‘piracy’

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Monday that plans by President Donald Trump to impose hefty fees on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz would turn the United States into a “pirate” state.

Trump vowed earlier to reinstate a blockade of Iran’s ports on the strait and slap a levy of 20 percent on all cargo shipped through Hormuz in order to pay for keeping the narrow waterway open.

Tehran started blocking the key conduit for petroleum shipments after the US and Israel launched attacks in late February, which prompted Washington to stop the shipping to and from Iranian ports.

14/07/2026 – 01:27

UAE says Iran attacked two ships in Hormuz, one dead

The United Arab Emirates said Tuesday that Iran attacked two ships in the Strait of Hormuz with missiles, killing one crew member and wounding eight others.

The strikes came after the United States launched a fresh salvo of strikes against Tehran, marking a new escalation in the resumption of hostilities in the Middle East war.

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“The Ministry of Defence announces that the national tankers Mombasa and Al Bahiyah were targeted by two Iranian cruise missiles while transiting the southern shipping lane of the Strait of Hormuz, within Omani territorial waters,” the Emirati defence ministry wrote on X.

• US President ⁠Donald Trump has sent ​Congress formal notification that hostilities against Iran resumed on July 7, a letter his administration sees ​as opening a new 60-day window to use the military in the region without congressional approval.
• US President Donald Trump on Monday said the United States would again strike Iran “hard,” as the military launched a fresh salvo of attacks for the third night in a row and reimposed a blockade on Iranian ports.
• Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has mocked President Donald Trump’s threat to impose hefty fees on commercial shipping passing through the Strait of Hormuz, saying Tehran would charge a lower rate.

(FRANCE 24 with Reuters, AP and AFP)