It could be murky for a ceasefire between the US and Iran after a late-night exchange of fire between them in the Strait of Hormuz amid talks, with both sides defending their positions, as Iran accused the US of violating the ceasefire by targeting two ships in the strait, while the US military said it targeted sites responsible for attacking three US destroyers transiting the strait, describing the attack as unprovoked.
The late-night conflagration, which marked the gravest rupture since the cessation of hostilities was announced weeks earlier, intensified fears of a broader maritime escalation in the Gulf even as backchannel negotiations continued between the US and Iran over a possible temporary arrangement aimed at halting the war, according to The Guardian.
Iranian state media reported that after several hours of bombardment and retaliatory exchanges, conditions along the country’s coastal belt and islands near the Strait of Hormuz had “returned to normal”.
The US military asserted that Iranian forces had launched missiles, drones and armed small boats against the USS Truxtun, USS Rafael Peralta and USS Mason while the destroyers were traversing the waterway, though it maintained that no American assets had been struck.
In response, US Central Command said it eliminated incoming threats and carried out precision strikes on Iranian missile and drone launch sites, intelligence nodes and command facilities allegedly involved in orchestrating the attacks.
Iran, however, denounced the strikes as a brazen breach of the ceasefire agreement and accused the US of targeting an Iranian oil tanker alongside another vessel entering the strait.
Iranian military spokespersons further alleged that American warplanes had struck civilian zones along the coasts of Bandar Khamir, Sirik and Qeshm Island, a densely inhabited territory housing a major desalination facility, while asserting that Iranian forces retaliated against US naval assets and inflicted “significant damage”.
The renewed hostilities rattled already volatile global energy markets, with Brent crude surging to nearly $101 a barrel amid apprehensions over the security of one of the world’s most strategically indispensable shipping corridors.
Despite the exchanges, US President Donald Trump insisted the ceasefire remained operational, dismissing the strikes as merely a “love tap” while warning that the US could respond with far greater ferocity if Iran continued what he termed reckless provocations.
Trump simultaneously claimed Iran desired a negotiated settlement more urgently than the US, even as senior Iranian officials reportedly resisted concessions and contemplated prolonging negotiations until the approaching US midterm elections intensified domestic political pressure on the White House.
Regional diplomats nevertheless cautioned that both sides remained perilously close to a catastrophic resumption of full-scale warfare should the tenuous truce collapse entirely.