Strait of Hormuz: Iran attacks three ships in 24 hours, U.S. says

Iran's military fired at least two missiles at commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Monday night, two U.S. officials tell Axios. The IRGC attacked a third commercial ship on Tuesday morning, a U.S. official said. Why it matters: The reported attacks threaten to unravel a memorandum of understanding signed less than three weeks ago under which Iran agreed to halt attacks in the Strait of Hormuz. And they come after a one-week agreement between the U.S. and Iran on halting attacks in the strait expired. The U.S. is likely to retaliate with strikes against Iranian targets. Driving the news: The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said Monday that it had received a report from a tanker traveling south near Oman along the Strait of Hormuz coast that had been struck by an unknown projectile, causing a fire. A U.S. official said a second commercial vessel had been struck by an Iranian missile. Both vessels suffered significant damage but no casualties, the U.S. official said. State of play: A round of indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran in Doha, Qatar, last week ended without much progress on the issue of the Strait of Hormuz.