U.S. Central Command announced Monday that it began a third consecutive night of strikes against Iran at the direction of President Donald Trump as the conflict between Washington and Tehran continues to escalate.

“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,” CENTCOM said in a statement posted on X.

Earlier Monday, Trump announced that the United States would reinstate its blockade of Iranian ports.

“The Hormuz Strait is OPEN, and will remain OPEN, with or without Iran,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “We are reinstating THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE, so named because it is only stopping Iran’s ships or customers from entering or leaving.”

The latest military action follows days of escalating hostilities after Iran fired on commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz . The U.S. military has responded with repeated rounds of airstrikes, while Trump’s announcement that the blockade would resume signaled a further intensification of the conflict.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Monday that the June 17 memorandum of understanding “has entered a crisis stage,” arguing Iran had not fulfilled certain provisions of the agreement because the U.S. had first “violated its commitments.”

Over the weekend, Iran launched a barrage of missiles targeting U.S. military installations in Jordan , Bahrain , Kuwait , and Oman in retaliation for earlier American strikes on Iran.

In a letter to Congress sent under the War Powers Resolution obtained by the Washington Examiner , Trump said he ordered U.S. forces to begin “defensive strikes” on July 7 against missile launch sites, air defense systems, military maritime assets, support infrastructure, and command-and-control facilities inside Iran.

IRAN RETURNS TO NO-LIMIT GULF STATE TARGET LIST AFTER DECLARING STRAIT OF HORMUZ CLOSED

“United States ground forces are not involved in these strikes,” Trump wrote. He described the operation as “limited, measured, planned, and executed in a manner designed to minimize civilian casualties,” adding that the objectives were to protect U.S. forces, secure commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, defend regional allies, and preserve U.S. national security interests.

Trump said U.S. forces remain prepared to take additional military action “as necessary and appropriate” to counter future threats from Iran. He also said he ordered the strikes under his constitutional authority as commander in chief and submitted the letter “consistent with the War Powers Resolution” to keep Congress informed.