US military claims it intercepted Iranian missiles in ‘surprise attack

The US military said Tuesday it intercepted multiple ballistic missiles launched from Iran in what it described as an attempted "surprise attack" on American forces in the Middle East.

"At 5:45pm ET today, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces launched multiple ballistic missiles from Iran in an attempted surprise attack on US forces based in the Middle East," the US Central Command (CENTCOM) wrote on X.

"All Iranian missiles were successfully intercepted," it said, adding that "US forces remain vigilant and at a high state of readiness."

The re was no immediate comment from Tehran on the US claims.

The reported missile launches came after CENTCOM said earlier Tuesday that the US military had redirected 18 commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, disabled two others and boarded two more as part of what it described as a naval blockade against Iranian ports.

The latest incident followed a 13-day exchange of strikes between the two sides, after which both Washington and Tehran appeared to have paused further attacks.

US President Donald Trump said on Monday he had decided to pause US strikes on Iran to give negotiations another chance, while warning that he could order further strikes if talks fail.

In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, Trump reiterated he was prepared to strike more Iranian targets but said he would prefer to avoid doing so.

Trump also repeated a threat to potentially target Iran's Pickaxe Mountain, a fortified facility buried deep underground near one of Tehran's main nuclear sites, saying, "If we don't make a deal, we'll take it ​out very easily."

Meanwhile, tensions continued to rise over the Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy shipping route.

A Gulf source told Reuters on Tuesday that Oman has presented Iran with a plan backed by Gulf states to manage the Strait of Hormuz, including collecting voluntary fees for using it.

The Omani proposals are intended to serve as a basis to end the disruption to trade through the strait caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Iran has said it wants to manage the strait alongside Oman, which controls the opposite shore, and charge service fees to ships that use it. Washington wants to return to the status quo prior to the war when ships were able to pass freely with no payments and says charging mandatory fees would be illegal.

In an interview with Iranian state-run IRIB TV on Tuesday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi said Iran will not allow the strait to return to its pre-war status, saying if the strait's situation returns to what it was before the war, "our success in the war will not be complete."

Gharibabadi said Tehran had proposed to Oman that Iran must have full control over the strait's entry route and partial control over its exit route. He added that if Oman accepts the offer, "we will move on to the next stage," and if not, the strait will remain closed and "we are ready for the war's resumption."

Iran's joint military command again rejected a plan put forward by Trump for damages to vessels to be paid from frozen Iranian assets, state media reported. It said that any country or company that accepted such payments would be denied passage through the strait by Iran's armed forces.

Adding to the challenges for shipping in the region, the Iran-aligned Houthis in ​Yemen opened a new front against the US and its ​allies on July 20, when they declared a blockade of Saudi ports on the Red Sea. The group said it was in response to Saudi Arabia's blockade of Yemen.

Late on Tuesday, the Houthis said they had fired ballistic missiles at a Saudi oil tanker, which they said was forced to turn back.