Authorities investigating blasts heard in southeastern Iran - Tasnim

US President Donald Trump formally notified Congress that hostilities had resumed in Iran, saying American forces carried out “defensive strikes against targets within Iran” on July 7.

In a letter sent to congressional leaders on Friday and obtained by The New York Times on Monday, Trump said the strikes were conducted under his authority as commander in chief.

The notification is likely to intensify tensions between the White House and Congress over Trump’s authority to continue military operations in Iran without lawmakers’ approval.

Both chambers of Congress have voted to direct Trump to end the war or seek authorization to continue it, while the White House maintains that the president is acting within his constitutional powers.

The spokesperson for the Iranian parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee said US President Donald Trump should “guard Graham’s grave” after Trump said the United States would become the guardian of the Strait of Hormuz.

“We do not need foreign labor to protect the strait,” Ebrahim Rezaei said on X.

“If he is so insistent on working as a guard, he should go and guard Graham’s grave,” he added, referring to US Senator Lindsey Graham, who died Saturday.

US Central Command said Monday its forces would resume blockading maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports at 4 p.m. ET on July 14, acting at President Donald Trump’s direction.

“CENTCOM forces will enforce the blockade against vessels transiting to or from Iranian ports and coastal areas,” CENTCOM said in a statement posted on X.

CENTCOM said it would continue supporting vessels in regional waters that were not violating the blockade.

It advised mariners operating in the Gulf of Oman and near the approaches to the Strait of Hormuz to monitor navigational warnings.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi asserted that Iran would remain the "guardian" of the Strait of Hormuz, in response to US President Donald Trump saying earlier that the United States would assume that role and seek 20% reimbursement on cargo shipped through the waterway.

“POTUS is absolutely right. Whoever provides secure and safe passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz should be compensated for this service,” Araghchi said on X.

“Iran has always been the GUARDIAN of the Strait and will remain so FOREVER,” he added. “20% is of course too much. We will be fair.”

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Monday condemned Saudi Arabia’s attack on Sana’a International Airport, describing it as “a clear violation of international law, the United Nations Charter and Yemen’s sovereignty” and saying it contravened the 2022 ceasefire agreement.

Videos posted on social media showed an Iranian Mahan Air passenger plane, en route from Tehran to Sana'a, landing at Al Hudaydah Airport in western Yemen after airstrikes hit the runway at Sana'a Airport, according to Iranian state-affiliated media and sources close to the Houthis.