LIVE: Tehran warns ‘we have not even begun’ after Hormuz battle

by Andrew Jehring, Chief Foreign Correspondent

Donald Trump’s bid to reopen the Strait of Hormuz yesterday risked reigniting the war in the Middle East.

After he confirmed Iran had fired ‘shots’ at vessels, the US President warned Tehran it would be ‘blown off the face of the Earth’ should it target American ships in the Gulf.

And air raid sirens sounded in the region for the first time since the uneasy ceasefire came into force last month, with the mullahs launching a series of missile and drone attacks on the UAE.

Fifteen Iranian missiles were intercepted, while drones struck an empty crude tanker in the Strait and attacked the country’s oil fields once more – sending the price of a barrel of crude back up to £85.

‘Project Freedom’, as it has been dubbed by the White House, brought a day of claim and counter-claim.

The US said it had successfully escorted two ships through the vital waterway, something Tehran blasted as ‘lies’.

The Fujairah Oil Industry Zone was struck by Iranian drones

India has condemned a drone strike on an energy facility in Fujairah in which three Indians were injured.

‘We call for immediate cessation of these hostilities and the targeting of civilian infrastructure and innocent civilians,’ India’s foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said earlier today.

The South Asian nation is heavily dependent on imported energy, which has been disrupted since the Middle East war began in late February.

India, the world’s third-largest oil buyer, normally sources about half of its crude through the Strait of Hormuz.

The United Arab Emirates blamed Iran for the drone attack on an energy installation on Monday.

Iranian state TV said the Islamic republic had ‘no pre-planned programme’ to attack oil facilities in the UAE.

Good morning and welcome to the Daily Mail’s live coverage of the Iran war as Tehran and Washington remain embroiled in a standoff in the Strait of Hormuz.

A fragile and open-ending ceasefire agreement appeared to be in ruins yesterday as fire was traded in the waterway.

Donald Trump announced the US would help escort ships through the strait but some vessels came under attack.

This morning, Iran’s chief negotiator in talks with the United States has warned his country has ‘not even started’ in its standoff over the Strait of Hormuz.

‘We know full well that the continuation of the status quo is intolerable for America; whilst we have not even started yet,’ Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a post on X.

Stick with us as we bring you the latest developments throughout the day.