US-Iran war LIVE: Trump slaps 20 per cent levy on ships

The Middle East has settled back on to a war footing as the US returns to an all-out offensive on Iran.

Bahrain’s interior ministry said the country’s warnings sirens had been sounded for the second time today, but did not identify what triggered them.

Iran’s revolutionary guard did, however, put out a statement saying it had targeted US facilities in Bahrain, including communications infrastructure.

Bahrain is yet to report any damage.

The US military says the latest wave of strikes on Iran have been completed.

“During the five-hour mission, US forces successfully struck military targets across Iran including Bushehr, Chah Bahar, Jask, Konarak, Abu Musa, and Bandar Abbas to further degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping,” US Central Command wrote on X.

“CENTCOM forces employed precision munitions against Iranian coastal defence systems, missile and drone sites, and maritime capabilities.”

Iranian media has reported blasts in southern Iran’s Bushehr coastal province and the islands of Kish and Qesh.

Arson and vandalism attacks on Jewish sites in Britain were the work of a proxy group backed by Iran, the UK government said.

The government has announced it is banning the organisation behind the attacks, the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right, or IMCR, also known as Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia.

It has also banned Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which it said is a threat to national security. The move makes it illegal to support the groups. Committing sabotage on their behalf will be punishable by up to life imprisonment.

The UK Parliament must approve the bans, which the government expects to take place by the end of the week.

Iran has claimed it targeted US military facilities in Kuwait with drones and fired cruise missiles at a US naval vessel, state media reports.

According to a statement by the Iranian army, the drone strikes targeted communication systems, fuel tanks, a Patriot air defence system, a watchtower and an ammunition depot at what Iran described as a US military base in Kuwait.

The army said the attacks were carried out in response to “repeated US aggression against Iran.”

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The renewed fighting has spilled over to Yemen where the de-facto truce between Iranian-backed Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia looks in peril.

Houthi commanders said they launched missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia’s Abha International Airport on Monday in response to airstrikes they blamed on the kingdom that struck Sanaa International Airport (pictured) earlier in the day.

No casualties were reported, but the attacks marked an escalation not seen since a Saudi-led coalition struck Houthi-controlled areas several years ago. Saudi Arabian officials did not immediately respond to a request from The Associated Press for comment about the airstrikes in Yemen.

The internationally recognised government in Yemen said earlier that the strikes that hit Sanaa International Airport were meant to prevent an Iranian plane from landing.

One crew member has been killed when Iranian missiles struck two UAE oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf state’s defence ministry says.

Tankers Al Bahiya and Mombasa were hit while they were in Omani territorial waters, and an Indian crew member aboard the latter was killed, the ministry wrote on X.

Six Indian nationals and two Ukrainian citizens were injured.

Both tankers were damaged and caught on fire, before the blazes were brought under control. the ministry said.

There is an upgraded travel warning for Australians who may be stopping over in the Middle East on an overseas trip.

The federal government’s Smarttraveller website is advising them to reconsider their need to travel.

The list of destinations includes some key stopovers on flights to Europe.

Countries with upgraded advice to level three are Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

The US military says it has just launched a further wave of strikes against Iran.

“These strikes will continue imposing a heavy cost on Iranian forces and degrade their ability to attack innocent civilians and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” US Central Command wrote on X.

The attacks are the latest exchange of fire between the two countries that kicked off last week when Iran attacked a merchant ships off the coast of Oman.

Donald Trump has pledged at least two more rounds of strikes on Iran over coming hours.

“We’re going to 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,” Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt.

“They have nothing. They have nothing going, other than they have big mouths,” he said.

The president also told Hewitt the memorandum of understanding signed by the US and Iran was “built to test” the regime in Tehran.

“Memorandum of understanding when you’re dealing with sleazebags don’t mean much,” Trump said.

“They didn’t honour the test.”

US Central Command (CENTOM) says it deployed drone ships to strike an Iranian ship maintenance site and submarine.

“Three Corsair unmanned surface vessels hit the port at Bandar Abbas Naval Base, marking the first time American forces have employed sea drones in combat operations,” CENTCOM wrote on X overnight.

The post included dramatic video of the drone boats approaching a dock that had a submarine sitting on top of it followed by aerial footage of the explosion on Sunday.