US and Iran exchange fire and disagree on whether strait of Hormuz is open | First Thing

The standoff over the strait of Hormuz goes on after a week of tit-for-tat strikes between the US and Iran. Photograph: Razieh Poudat/AP View image in fullscreen The standoff over the strait of Hormuz goes on after a week of tit-for-tat strikes between the US and Iran. Photograph: Razieh Poudat/AP First Thing: US and Iran exchange fire and disagree on whether strait of Hormuz is open Tehran says latest US attacks have ‘rendered futile’ diplomatic efforts of last few months. Plus, hit song in Australia prompts speculation about use of AI Good morning. The US military has launched a fresh wave of attacks against Iran amid the escalating standoff over the strait of Hormuz. Tehran said the latest strikes had “rendered futile” all the diplomatic efforts of the past few months while Donald Trump said: “We’re beating them ​up” as oil prices surged again . Iran responded to the strikes by attacking countries in the region that host US military forces. Jordan’s army said it had shot down four Iranian missiles. Kuwait’s military said it was responding to “hostile aerial targets” on Monday as Iran carried out strikes on US interests in the Gulf. What has Iran said about the latest hostilities? Iran condemned the latest wave of attacks, its foreign ministry saying they had “rendered futile all efforts of the past few months to reduce tension and establish peace in the west Asian region”. The ministry added: “The US regime has also caused the return of insecurity in the strait of Hormuz and disruption of international commercial shipping.” Is the strait open? Iran said on Sunday that passage through the waterway was not possible because of what it called recent illegal US military movements in the region. The US said its forces were positioned to safeguard freedom of navigation, and reiterated guidance that, despite a severe security threat, an “expanded” southern route near Oman coastline was available for two-way traffic. Lindsey Graham, key ally of Donald Trump, dies aged 71 View image in fullscreen Lindsey Graham was once a vocal critic of ⁠Donald Trump before becoming one of his ​most loyal allies. Photograph: Rainier Ehrhardt/AP Lindsey Graham, longtime US senator and key ally of Donald Trump, has died from a sudden illness . He had just turned 71. Graham had served in the Senate since 2003, representing South Carolina, and was running for re-election in November. There had been no known concerns over the health of Graham, whose birthday was last Thursday and who visited Ukraine last week. His death is a personal blow to Trump, for whom he was a political cheerleader and frequent golf partner. Tributes came from far and wide, with JD Vance, George W Bush, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Benjamin Netanyahu among those commenting on Graham’s death . How will Graham be replaced in the senate? South Carolina’s governor, Henry McMaster, will appoint a new senator to serve out the remainder of Graham’s term, which ends on 3 January. Whoever is appointed will likely h