The number of vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz fell to multi-week lows on Sunday, shipping data showed, as renewed strikes between the US and Iran and attacks on ships in the Middle East heightened safety concerns.

Six vessels transited the strait on Sunday, ship-tracking data from Kpler showed, the lowest number in five weeks.

Tankers that exited the strait included the Very Large Crude Carrier Humanity, laden with 2 million barrels of Iranian oil and another tanker, Capetan Andreas, carrying about 500,000 barrels of Kuwaiti oil products, the data showed, while three empty tankers entered the Gulf to load oil.

Most of the tankers switched off their transponders when crossing the strait. There were no liquefied natural gas tankers that entered ‌the strait over the weekend that were ‌visible on ship-tracking data.

One tanker controlled by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co exited the strait between 10 July and 12 July, Kpler data showed.

The vessel is heading for Dahej port in India.

US forces completed another wave of strikes against Iran on Sunday, hitting dozens of targets at multiple locations with precision munitions, the Central Command said.

US president Donald Trump said on Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz is ‌open to commercial traffic, although Iran declared earlier that ​it closed the strait after a vessel ‌travelled on an unapproved route ⁠and was struck.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Monday ⁠that its navy stopped two ships in the Strait of Hormuz last ‌night by ​shutting down their systems. It did ‌not name the ships ​involved.

The Jordanian military said it has intercepted and shot down at least four missiles that entered its airspace from Iran, reported state news agency.

The United States and Iran each asserted today that they controlled the Strait of Hormuz after a weekend of attacks stretching across the wider Middle East, further threatening any diplomacy to end the war.

The US military’s Central Command described its forces as hitting dozens of sites in the strikes today, including air defence systems, radar sites, missile and drone equipment and small boats.

“The Strait of Hormuz is a vital maritime corridor for global trade,” Central Command said.

“Iran does not control it.”

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, a key power center in the country’s theocracy that controls its ballistic missile arsenal, sharply rejected America’s statement.

“The Strait of Hormuz is our territory, and we will not allow a rogue and child-killing army from the other side of the world to continue its illegal interference in it,” the Guard said.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have said they have attacked Gulf states overnight and targeted US military bases.

Missile alert sirens sounded at dawn Monday in Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet. There was no immediate word on damage.

The IRGC said it hit the US base at Sheikh Isa in Bahrain in its second phase of retaliatory strikes.

It added that it fired missiles and drones at fuel tanks and ammunition depots, setting them on fire at Prince Hassan Air Base in Jordan.

The strikes were the first phase of response to the US attacks on Iranian coastal bases, the IRGC said.

Share markets slid in Asia this morning as fighting intensified in the Gulf and Iran claimed to have closed the vital Strait of Hormuz, sending oil prices surging and rekindling inflation risks globally.

The dollar rose with bond yields as investors narrowed the odds of a hike in interest rates from the Federal Reserve, just a day before Chair Kevin Warsh is due to face Congress for the first time in his new role.

Inflation figures for June on Tuesday could show some cooling in the headline rate of 4.2 per cent as petrol prices decline, though some of that will reverse now that oil is rising anew.

Brent crude climbed 4.1 per cent to reach $79.11 a barrel, up from the recent trough of $70.14, while US crude added 4.1 per cent to $74.37 a barrel.

US officials said around 20 vessels had been ​escorted through ⁠the strait in the previous 24 hours, though ship tracking sites showed little traffic moving.

Equity investors will be hoping the earnings season proves as upbeat as forecast with the major banks kicking off from Tuesday, while Netflix and General Electric are also on the docket.

“Tech continues to screen highly in our models, supported by stand out earnings growth/momentum and attractive valuations,” wrote analysts at Citi in ​a note.

“While AI volatility may remain elevated over the coming quarter, we maintain our Overweight stance on global IT and the US,” they added.

S&P 500 futures eased 0.4 per cent, while Nasdaq futures lost 0.9 per cent.

In Europe, EUROSTOXX 50 futures and DAX futures both fell 0.6 per cent, while FTSE futures dipped 0.1 per cent.

Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.6 per cent, having shed 1.7 per cent last week, while MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 0.9 per cent.

The US military said today it ended its latest wave of strikes targeting Iran, insisting that Tehran does not control the Strait of Hormuz.

The US military’s Central Command said in a statement that it hit air defence systems, radar sites, missile and drone equipment and small boats.

Central Command said it used fighter jets, ships, aerial drones and naval drones for the first time.

“The Strait of Hormuz is a vital maritime corridor for global trade,” Central Command said.

“Iran does not control it.”

It added: “US forces are postured and prepared to ensure that freedom of navigation remains available to commercial shipping despite Iran’s continued unwarranted aggression, harassment, threats and arbitrary declarations.”

Lindsey Graham, the US senator who died suddenly on Saturday night, joked about the threats he had received from Iran in the days before his death.

In a July 6 post on X, the Republican lawmaker shared an image that appeared to show a man in Tehran holding a sign emblazoned with a bullseye over Graham’s face, alongside the message: “SOONER OR LATER YOUR HEADS WILL ROLL.”

“At least they used a good photo of me,” Graham wrote. “Judge me by my enemies.”

Five days later, emergency dispatch audio indicated that paramedics were called to the four-term senator’s Washington, D.C., home around 8:30 p.m. Saturday in response to a cardiac arrest.

The United States launched several waves of strikes on Iran on Sunday over an Iranian attack on a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz that set it ablaze and left a crew member missing earlier in the weekend.

Iran responded with attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Oman — the nation on the other side of the strait that Tehran has pressed to collaborate in managing shipping traffic.

The U.S. military said it was seeking “to degrade” Iran’s “ability to attack commercial ships freely transiting” the strait. The statement came after a third round of strikes late Sunday night and into Monday in Iran.

Iranian state media acknowledged the latest attacks early Monday, describing explosions in several locations.

The first wave of strikes, on Sunday morning, was in response to an Iranian strike on a container ship in the critical waterway the day before. In response, Iran hit Gulf Arab states in an escalating cycle of violence that left the negotiations between Tehran and Washington to end the war at the edge of collapse.

US Central Command confirmed that President Donald Trump ordered more strikes on Iran tonight, as tensions escalate over the Strait of Hormuz.

“At 5 p.m. ET today, U.S. Central Command forces began launching more strikes against Iran to continue degrading their ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the Strait of Hormuz,” the statement said.

“The Commander in Chief has directed the strikes to hold Iranian forces accountable.”