Iran and the United States traded fresh military strikes across the Gulf, with both nations blaming each other for violating the MoU reached less than two weeks ago.
Iran announced that its forces launched attacks following recent US strikes on Iranian territory, while both accused each other of undermining the truce that was intended to halt nearly four months of warfare.
The renewed escalation highlighted the growing uncertainty surrounding the peace framework brokered by Pakistan and Qatar, which was designed to end a conflict initiated by the US and Israel in February. The conflict has severely disrupted maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and triggered volatility in global energy markets.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that it had tightened control over shipping movements in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, warning that any vessel violating Tehran’s designated route would face stricter enforcement measures.
According to Iranian authorities, only a specific maritime corridor running close to Iran’s coastline is currently approved for transit through the waterway.
The IRGC also claimed responsibility for retaliatory strikes targeting the US military positions in Kuwait and Bahrain.
In an official statement, the IRGC said the attacks struck eight major US military installations, including the Ali al-Salem Air Base in Kuwait and the US Fifth Fleet headquarters located in Bahrain’s Port Salman.
Iran warned that any future hostile action, regardless of scale or justification, would trigger an overwhelming response.
Authorities in Bahrain later confirmed that air raid sirens were activated twice on Sunday following the reported attacks.
The latest confrontation comes despite a memorandum of understanding signed in mid-June under Pakistan’s mediation efforts, aimed at securing a lasting end to hostilities.
Under the agreement, both the US and Iran, along with their allied forces, had committed to refraining from launching military operations or threatening the use of force against one another.
Donald Trump warned that Iran could face destruction if the US is compelled to resume full-scale military action.
His statement followed US military operations targeting several Iranian positions after Washington accused Tehran of violating the ceasefire once again.
Posting on Truth Social, Trump said American aircraft had struck Iranian missile depots, drone storage facilities, and coastal radar installations in response to what he described as repeated breaches of the ceasefire agreement.
He further warned that if diplomatic restraint failed, the US would complete a successful military campaign, adding that such an outcome could threaten the survival of the Iranian state.
The US military’s United States Central Command said Saturday’s strikes were launched after an Iranian drone attack on the Panama-registered oil tanker Kiku, which was reportedly transporting nearly two million barrels of crude oil.
According to the Pentagon, the US forces targeted Iranian surveillance systems, communication infrastructure, air defence positions, drone storage areas, and naval mine deployment capabilities.
Iranian media later reported multiple explosions in the southern regions of Sirik and Qeshm.
The US had conducted similar strikes a day earlier, saying those operations were retaliation for a previous Iranian attack on another commercial vessel, the Ever Lovely.
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