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Ceasefire Ends, Strikes Resume
President Donald Trump said Washington’s ceasefire with Iran is over and threatened more military action after the two sides clashed overnight, signaling the U.S. would reimpose its naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump told reporters, “I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them anymore,” and later said the U.S. would “very probably” attack Iran “hard again tonight.”
U.S. Central Command said it launched “a series of powerful strikes against Iran” after three commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz were “recently attacked,” and later confirmed it struck over 80 targets across Iran.
The U.S. also withdrew a waiver that had allowed Iran to sell its oil, and oil prices rose after Trump spoke, with Brent crude futures for September delivery jumping 5.7% to around $78.41 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate adding 5.9% to $74.60 a barrel.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry labeled the strikes a “gross violation of the Memorandum of Understanding,” and said Iran’s armed forces “will not hesitate to defend Iran’s territorial integrity, national sovereignty, and national security” against American military aggression.
Competing Claims and Voices
U.S. Central Command said the new strikes were “to further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” and it wrote on X that the U.S. was holding Iran accountable for “recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews.”
Trump described the fresh attacks as “retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran,” and he added, “If it happens again, it will get much worse!”
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte called the U.S. strikes “absolutely necessary,” saying Iran was “violating” the cease-fire and urging that allies reconfirm Iran should “never, ever get its hands on a nuclear capability.”
Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf insisted it was the U.S. that violated the interim peace agreement, citing U.S. reinstating sanctions on Iranian oil sales and “persistent threats of further strikes.”
The European Union’s foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said the exchanges of fire “further complicate already fraught talks to end the war,” and warned that Iran’s attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait were “unacceptable.”
Oil Sanctions, Navigation, and Risk
The escalation paired military action with economic pressure, as the U.S. Treasury Department withdrew the general license issued on June 22 that had allowed Iran to sell crude oil and petroleum products and petrochemicals until August 21.
The U.S. gave Tehran until July 17 to complete ongoing transactions, stressing that the exemptions “depend entirely on Iran's conduct,” and that any economic benefits linked to the agreement would not continue unless Iran showed “good conduct.”
The Iranian Foreign Ministry said the oil-exemption withdrawal and the military strikes violated the memorandum of understanding and warned of “consequences,” while Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said negotiations on a final agreement “will not begin if American threats continue.”
France 24 reported that U.S. Central Command announced on Tuesday it launched attacks on Iran, saying it struck more than 80 targets and revoked a license allowing Iran to sell oil after three oil tankers were hit in the Strait of Hormuz.
In the same reporting, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused the United States of committing serious violations of the memorandum of understanding, as the dispute over maritime security and the Strait of Hormuz remained central to the standoff.
