{"text":[[{"start":10.75,"text":"The US began more strikes against Iran on Monday as the Islamic republic targeted two Emirati tankers with cruise missiles in the Strait of Hormuz, in a further escalation of the conflict that has driven up global oil prices."}],[{"start":23.85,"text":"American forces undertook the sixth wave of attacks since President Donald Trump last week resumed US air strikes in retaliation for Iran hitting commercial ships navigating the strait and declared that a ceasefire intended to open the waterway was “over”. "}],[{"start":39.55,"text":"US Central Command, which oversees American military operations in the Middle East, said Monday’s strikes were intended to “continue imposing a heavy cost on Iranian forces and degrade their ability to attack innocent civilians and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz”."}],[{"start":55.099999999999994,"text":"Trump earlier in the day posted on Truth Social that the waterway, through which a fifth of global oil shipments typically pass, was “OPEN” and told Fox News the US would be “taking over the strait” and would be its “guardian”."}],[{"start":67.85,"text":"However, late on Monday in Washington, the United Arab Emirates’ defence ministry said the Mombasa and Bahia tankers “were targeted by two Iranian cruise missiles in the southern passage of the Strait of Hormuz in Omani territorial waters”, killing one crew member and injuring eight."}],[{"start":84.94999999999999,"text":"The military clashes raise the risk of a return to full-blown conflict between Washington and Tehran, and have driven up oil prices over recent days."}],[{"start":94.85,"text":"Brent crude, the international benchmark, opened 1.6 per cent higher at about $85 a barrel. It settled 10 per cent higher on Monday, the highest level since June 12, as tensions between Washington and Tehran flared."}],[{"start":109.1,"text":"Prices ticked higher as Trump warned in a radio interview that the US would “hit them very hard tonight and we’re going to hit them hard tomorrow. And there’s not a damn thing they can do about it.”"}],[{"start":120.69999999999999,"text":"Trump also attacked Iran’s leaders as “crazy” and “a little cuckoo”, accusing them of backing away from their commitments under the “memorandum of understanding” signed by the US and Iran last month."}],[{"start":131.7,"text":"“They basically break the deals. You know, they make deals, and to them, deals are made to be broken,” Trump said. “They are extremely unreliable people, and frankly, if they ever had a nuclear weapon, they’d use it within one day.”"}],[{"start":144.64999999999998,"text":"Trump said there was “no activity” at Natanz, the nuclear site that was severely damaged during last year’s bombing, but suggested the US could hit the site “relatively soon”. The US has hit hundreds of targets in Iran over the past week. "}],[{"start":160.34999999999997,"text":"As strikes began early on Tuesday morning local time, explosions were heard on the islands of Kish, Qeshm and Abu Musa as well as in the port city of Bandar Abbas, according to the Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. "}],[{"start":175.69999999999996,"text":"Local officials said a projectile struck part of western Bandar Abbas, with no casualties or injuries reported."}],[{"start":182.49999999999997,"text":"Bahrain also intercepted and destroyed Iranian aerial attacks early Tuesday, Nabeel bin Yaqub Al-Hamar, media adviser to King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, posted on X. "}],[{"start":194.34999999999997,"text":"Trump notified Congress of the resumption of military operations against Iran in a letter to lawmakers on Monday as the administration also set out new plans to assert control over the Strait of Hormuz."}],[{"start":206.74999999999997,"text":"The US military said it would reimpose its naval blockade against ships transiting Iranian ports and coastal areas on Tuesday at 4pm Washington time, on the president’s orders."}],[{"start":218.54999999999998,"text":"Iran’s military command centre, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, on Monday said Tehran would by no means “allow the US to interfere in the management” of the strait, which is its main point of leverage."}],[{"start":230.35,"text":"Trump has also demanded a 20 per cent fee on cargo passing through the strait be paid to the US."}],[{"start":236.85,"text":"That levy would add about $16 in cost to every barrel of crude oil passing through Hormuz, based on current prices, or about $32mn per supertanker. Trump did not specify how the US would implement its plan for the strait, which Washington and Tehran each claim to control."}],[{"start":255.4,"text":"Citigroup’s analysts on Monday warned “the risks of military escalation” would rise “materially” if the US implemented the 20 per cent fee."}],[{"start":264.7,"text":"“The possibility that the Iranian regime walks away from the [interim deal] until after the midterm US elections has also risen, a scenario which would most likely see higher-for-longer oil prices,” the bank said in a note to clients."}],[{"start":278.05,"text":"Additional reporting by Bita Ghaffari in Tehran"}],[{"start":288.7,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1783992242_8300.mp3"}