Full story
New strikes, new targets
The U.S. military said it was striking new targets in Iran again as hostilities flared after a month without military action, with U.S. Central Command saying the strikes followed “recent attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members deployed to the region.”
“follow recent attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz”
On Sunday, the U.S. military said it struck rocket launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran responded by launching missiles at U.S. sites in Jordan, which were intercepted, while the United Arab Emirates said it stopped an Iranian drone over its waters.
Oil markets tracked the renewed fighting, with CNBC saying WTI futures added about 5% to $90.03 per barrel, hitting levels not seen since July 24, after the U.S. confirmed it was striking IRGC targets in Iran.
CNBC also said a tanker was struck by three unknown projectiles while transiting Hormuz on Monday, and that no casualties were reported, while the UKMTO incident report placed the tanker in the southern shipping lane close to the Omani coast.
In parallel, Iran’s leaders signaled conditional reciprocity, with CNBC reporting that Masoud Pezeshkian told the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit on Tuesday that Tehran would immediately reciprocate if Washington agreed to return to its commitments under the interim deal signed in June.
Warnings, travel alerts, talks
The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem issued a security alert telling Americans in the region to remain vigilant amid regional tensions, warning that “Iran and groups supportive of Iran may target other U.S. interests overseas or at locations associated with the United States and Americans throughout the world.”
In the same period, Iran’s Parliament Speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf warned that if the United States does not fulfill its commitments, Iran would force it “through the language of power,” and he said the Strait of Hormuz would not reopen until Washington implemented its obligations under the agreement.
Iran’s messaging also tied escalation to the June memorandum, with Iran International reporting that Ghalibaf said Iran would respond militarily if Washington intensified its maritime blockade, adding, “If the enemy intends to prevent Iran from exporting oil from the Persian Gulf, it should know that no one else will be able to export oil from this region either.”
Qatar, meanwhile, said it was holding talks with Oman and Pakistan to de-escalate tensions and warned against normalising the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, with Al Jazeera quoting Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari saying, “Escalation does not benefit anyone, and we are all negatively impacted by the escalation.”
Diplomatic efforts were described as ongoing around the memorandum, with Iran International saying Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif discussed it with Pezeshkian and described it as the “only viable pathway” toward lasting peace.
Energy stakes and next moves
The renewed exchanges raised the stakes for shipping and energy flows, with Al Jazeera saying the war between Iran and the US has seen shipping in the waterway grind almost to a halt and that “Around 25 percent of the world’s seaborne trade passed through the strait” before the war began on February 28.
“Around 25 percent of the world’s seaborne trade passed through the strait”
Al Jazeera also reported that the U.S. enforced a blockade on Iranian ports while Iran was accused of laying mines and attacking tankers in the waterway, and it said energy prices “have since skyrocketed, affecting economies across the world.”
In parallel, CNBC said the back-and-forth hostilities marked the first time that the U.S. and Iran traded strikes in over a month, and it quoted Ali Vaez of International Crisis Group saying the U.S. strike on Larak Island appeared to be “punishing a specific behaviour rather than, at least for now, broadening its war aims.”
CNBC further described U.S. pressure as economic coercion, saying Washington ramped up pressure with “secondary sanctions” that punish nations and businesses buying Iranian crude oil, and it quoted U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying Iran was “lashing out kinetically” because the new sanctions were taking a toll on its economy.
As the conflict continued into its seventh month, PBS said President Donald Trump acknowledged Monday that more strikes might be necessary, while Iran International reported that Iran’s leadership framed the memorandum as the principal route back to diplomacy if Washington returned to its commitments under the June agreement.