U.S. launches third consecutive night of strikes on Iran as Trump targets Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site

President Donald Trump ordered on Monday the reinstatement of the naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, hours before U.S. forces launched their third consecutive night of attacks against Iran.

According to U.S. Central Command (Centcom), the new round of airstrikes began at 4:45 p.m. Eastern Time, on Trump's direct orders. "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," the military agency stated.

The president had announced earlier on social media that the naval blockade—lifted on June 18—was back in effect, and thatthe United States would levy a 20% tax on all cargo passing through the strait "as a matter of FAIRNESS." "All other countries will have fair and open use of the Strait," he wrote, adding that his country would be recognized as "the Guardian of the Strait of Hormuz."

In an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt, Trump announced that the offensive would continue on Tuesday and warned that the U.S. military would "take out" Pickaxe Mountain, a deeply buried Iranian nuclear facility located just over a kilometer and a half south of the Natanz uranium enrichment site. This is a target that had not been attacked since the start of the war on February 28.

Trump had decided last week to end the ceasefire reached in June, citing the Iranian regime's repeated attacks on commercial vessels in the strait, through which nearly 20% of the world's oil and gas passes. Since then, the United States has resumed bombing—albeit with less intensity than in the early stages of the conflict—against missile systems, air defenses, and vessels belonging to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, including, for the first time, maritime attack drones.

On Monday, the White House formally notified Congress that the United States had resumed hostilities on July 7, restarting a 60-day period during which the Pentagon can operate in the region without legislative approval.

The blockade and the imposition of tolls drew criticism from analysts, who warned that it contradicts Washington's historic stance in favor of free trade in international waters, and that it clashes with previous statements by officials such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had argued that such a move could be considered a violation of international law.