{"text":[[{"start":0,"text":"The US has launched a fresh wave of strikes against Iran in response to Tehran’s targeting of American troops in the region and commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, sending oil prices higher as the conflict escalates."}],[{"start":25.16,"text":"American forces attacked Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets on Tuesday, the US military said, the second round of US strikes in three days after a month of relative calm in a war that plunged the Middle East into crisis and sent global energy prices soaring."}],[{"start":40.2,"text":"“The strikes are large and powerful, and in retaliation for the Iranians’ failed attempt at adding sea mines to the Strait . . . and the Iranians shooting eight missiles, all successfully knocked down, at our Military Base in Jordan,” US President Donald Trump said on his Truth Social platform, adding that if Tehran hits back, “they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level”."}],[{"start":61.12,"text":"The targets included air defence and radar systems, minelaying capabilities and communications sites, the US military said."}],[{"start":69.4,"text":"Iranian media reported that Tehran had launched retaliatory strikes, although it did not provide details of what had been targeted. The General Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces had earlier threatened to “impose a heavy cost on the American enemy” and “deliver crushing and debilitating blows”."}],[{"start":84,"text":"Oil prices hit the highs of the day following the escalation. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was up 4.6 per cent to $94.65 a barrel, while US marker West Texas Intermediate crude rose 5.4 per cent to $90.36."}],[{"start":101.114,"text":"US bond yields also rose back towards the levels hit earlier in the trading session as investors fretted higher oil prices will worsen inflation. The US 10-year yield, a benchmark for trillions of dollars in assets worldwide, was up 0.05 percentage points at 4.79 per cent, the highest level since early 2025."}],[{"start":120.6,"text":"Japanese 10-year yields had earlier hit the highest level since 1996, while those for UK gilts reached the highest point since 2008."}],[{"start":null,"text":"
"}],[{"start":129.48,"text":"The US’s attack comes after the warring parties resumed hostilities on Sunday, risking a return to full-blown conflict six months into the war."}],[{"start":138.24,"text":"The strikes also came after attacks on two oil tankers, one South Korean and one Saudi Arabian, that were shuttling crude out of the Gulf on Monday night. One of the vessels was travelling on the route closest to the Omani coast, a channel the US has claimed is open and safe to traverse."}],[{"start":154.92,"text":"Both sides have stepped up their rhetoric in recent days as they battle for control over the Strait of Hormuz and Trump seeks to intensify economic pressure on Tehran with new secondary sanctions on Iran’s trading partners."}],[{"start":167.2,"text":"Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliamentary speaker and one of its most powerful wartime leaders, on Tuesday warned that Iran would use military force to break a US naval blockade on Iranian ports. He said that no oil would be exported from the Gulf if the Islamic republic were prevented from selling its own crude."}],[{"start":185.52,"text":"“If they want to intensify the blockade, we will not wait. We will act and will respond militarily to a blockade which is considered one of the worst kinds of military acts,” Ghalibaf said in a video message."}],[{"start":197.88,"text":"Trump reimposed the blockade after a June memorandum of understanding he signed with Iran collapsed."}],[{"start":203.38,"text":"Under the MoU, the parties agreed to extend an April ceasefire by 60 days, gradually reopen the Hormuz and begin talks on a final settlement to end the war."}],[{"start":213.08,"text":"But it began unravelling in early July after Iran accused ships of using an “unauthorised” route through the strait and began attacking vessels. Both sides accused each other of violating the deal as they engaged in a tit-for-tat cycle of escalatory attacks."}],[{"start":227.88,"text":"There had, however, been no significant attacks since the US paused strikes in late July."}],[{"start":233.32,"text":"Iranian leaders say the only way to end the conflict is to return to the terms of the June agreement, which expired last month. But the US has told mediators it will not revive the interim deal as it seeks to use economic pressure to force Iran to cave to its demands."}],[{"start":248.68,"text":"Trump said on Monday that the US was safely guiding 30 tankers through the strait nightly: “We have the Strait of Hormuz in extremely good shape. You know, we’re taking over.”"}],[{"start":257.6,"text":"He has also insisted that the strait — through which a fifth of the world’s oil transited prior to the war — has been demined as the US attempts to encourage ships to transit the waterway."}],[{"start":268.84,"text":"Iranian news agencies reported on Tuesday that explosions were heard in several locations."}],[{"start":274.56,"text":"Tasnim news agency, which is close to the IRGC, reported that six explosions were heard in the coastal city of Konarak, eight in Qeshm including at the island’s airport, and several more in the port city of Bandar Abbas. A report from the Islamic Republic News Agency said projectiles had also hit Chabahar, on the Gulf of Oman."}],[{"start":295.28,"text":"The flare-up on Sunday erupted after US forces struck two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island in the strait, saying the IRGC was preparing to launch mines into the vital waterway. Iran responded by firing missiles at Jordan, where the US keeps a significant military presence."}],[{"start":312.6,"text":"Trump had vowed “a response” to Iran firing missiles at American troops in Jordan and that the American military would “hit them hard”."}],[{"start":320.24,"text":"Cartography by Steven Bernard"}],[{"start":327.79,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1788314646_4367.mp3"}