Trump Orders U.S. Bombardments in Southern Iran After Revolutionary Guards Attack Hormuz Vessels

Strikes and retaliation

The United States carried out new bombardments against targets in southern Iran after the Revolutionary Guards attempted to attack commercial vessels in the Hormuz Strait and US military in the region, and President Donald Trump told Fox News that any agreement signed with Iran "is not worth the paper it is written on."

Trump’s remarks came as U.S. Central Command said Tuesday’s attacks began at 1 p.m. (Brasília time), and Iran’s state television reported several explosions heard in the south of the country along the Hormuz Strait.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran would immediately retaliate if Washington fulfilled its commitments under the June ceasefire agreement, telling Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, during a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit that "the Islamic Republic of Iran will retaliate immediately."

The June document provided for the end of fighting but postponed more complex issues such as the future of the Iranian nuclear program and established a 60-day negotiation period that ended without progress and led to new attacks.

Trump also threatened that if Iran retaliates, the American response would be even more intense, saying "When it ends, there will be little left of the Islamic Republic of Iran."

Reporting for this sectionFolha de S.Paulo

Diplomacy vs power

Hours after Tehran called on Washington to return to the Islamabad memorandum, Trump dismissed the value of any agreement with Iran, ordered massive strikes on southern Iran, and threatened an even larger attack if Tehran retaliates. In a video message, Parliament Speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf said, "If the United States does not fulfill its commitments, we will force it to do so through the language of power," and he warned that the Strait of Hormuz would not reopen until Washington implemented its obligations under the agreement.

Pezeshkian reinforced Tehran’s position at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, saying "if the US returns to its commitments under the memorandum of understanding, the Islamic Republic of Iran will immediately reciprocate," according to IRNA. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told reporters that the “sincere implementation” of the MoU signed in June remains the “only way forward” to end the US-Israel war on Iran, while Qatar’s Majed al-Ansari said, "This escalation will not benefit anyone."

Reporting for this sectionIran InternationalAl Jazeera

What’s at stake next

The renewed emphasis on the memorandum comes as the two sides publicly move further apart, with Tehran saying it is prepared to return to the memorandum if Washington moves first while Trump has dismissed the value of an agreement and threatened substantially heavier military action if Tehran retaliates.

The MoU agreed in June was intended to halt the conflict and provide a temporary framework for negotiations, including provisions dealing with the US maritime blockade and commercial navigation through Hormuz, and it included a 60-day negotiation period.

Under the MoU, Iran agreed to clear the Strait of Hormuz of mines and allow ships to pass during the period, while the US agreed to end its naval blockade, lift sanctions, issue waivers for Iranian oil exports, and begin work on a reconstruction package for Iran.

Al Jazeera reported that the ceasefire collapsed within weeks and that the MoU lapsed last month, with Pezeshkian saying, "America’s commitment to the document signed by the president of that country lasted less than two weeks."

Against that backdrop, the sources describe economic pressure as part of the next phase, with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying Washington was about to impose new sanctions and Trump warning that if there is retaliation, the American response would be "much more hard and intense manner."

Reporting for this sectionAl JazeeraFolha de S.Paulo