US and Iran trade most intense strikes since ceasefire extended | US-Israel war on Iran
US launches airstrikes on Iran overnight, killing at least 14 people; Tehran responded by striking the Gulf countries most intensely since the weak ceasefire was extended last month.
Thursday’s tit-for-tat attacks were the biggest since Tehran and Washington signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on June 17 to extend the ceasefire and make room for negotiations for a permanent ceasefire.
While sirens sounded at least three times in Bahrain, where the headquarters of the US Navy’s fifth fleet is located, Iranian missiles also targeted Kuwait and Qatar. There were no immediate reports of any damage.
The attacks came hours after Donald Trump said the memorandum of understanding was “over” because of Iran’s attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Following the attacks, the US president threatened the country once again by publishing videos of explosions in Iran.
“This is revenge for Iran bombing the ships yesterday. If it happens again, it will be much worse!” Trump wrote at Truth Social. Hours earlier, he had promised that the attacks would not lead to long-term conflict but would be “very quick”.
His comments and the mutual ceasefire raised concerns that the ceasefire could break down and raised concerns about the long-term prospects of the negotiations. There are serious gaps between the two countries on issues such as Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz and inspection of nuclear facilities.
There have been attacks back and forth since the MoU was signed, but Thursday’s strikes were the most intense in recent weeks.
The US military said it hit nearly 90 targets in Iran, showing footage of attacks on missile launchers and runways. It was stated that the attacks aimed to reduce Iran’s capacity to “threaten freedom of navigation” in the Strait of Hormuz, which is a critical transit point for approximately 20 percent of the world’s oil and natural gas.
Iran has accused the United States of war crimes after it said two bridges in its eastern provinces leading to the city of Mashhad, where the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is expected to be buried on Thursday, were targeted. The bridges form the basic infrastructure of Iran’s cross-border trade, which has increased significantly since the beginning of the war with China.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to strike bridges, power plants and other civilian infrastructure in Iran. If not for a military purpose, targeting civilian infrastructure could amount to a war crime.
Iranian state media also reported explosions in several cities, including Bushehr, where Iran’s nuclear power plant complex is located. At least three people died in Khuzestan province in southwestern Iran, while a firefighter was killed at an airport in the southeastern city of Iranshahr. Nine members of the Iranian army were also killed in attacks on Wednesday.
The United States attacked Iran after Iran hit three ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday. Iran stopped almost all shipping through the strait during the war; It caused global energy prices to rise and put domestic pressure on Trump ahead of the midterm elections.
The Memorandum of Understanding calls for the reopening of the strait to commercial shipping for 60 days. Iran says it wants to charge ships passing through the strait, contradicting the United States, which says it is an international waterway and there should be no transit fees.
While Iran continues to view its control of the strait as an important trump card in its negotiations with the United States, Trump appears to view attacks on Iran as a way to increase pressure on Tehran.
Senior Iranian negotiator and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said US pressure would lead nowhere. “America still hasn’t learned that bullying and breaking promises are no longer free,” he said in a post on X. “Let me be clear: If you attack, you will be shot.”
Mediators have tried to de-escalate tensions between the United States and Iran in an attempt to salvage negotiations. Qatari prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, an important intermediary between the countries, met with Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday and condemned Tehran’s attacks on ships in the strait.
“His Excellency emphasized that such actions would undermine trust, threaten international maritime security and harm efforts to consolidate regional security and stability,” Qatar’s foreign ministry said in a statement. The statement was included.
Negotiations to reach a final agreement were scheduled to begin on Thursday after the completion of Khamenei’s seven-day funeral. The two-day strike meant talks would be held amid rising tensions
Trump said on Wednesday that negotiators were “wasting their time.” Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Garibabadi, reacted harshly to Trump and described his comments as “an admission of failure of a policy that has been based on force, sanctions and threats for years and has failed to bring the Iranian nation to its knees.”
Gharibabadi wrote about X: “With the criminal and murderer Trump, he must speak his own language, apparently he understands the language of force better!”
Additional reporting by Patrick Wintour
