The United States military launched a series of strikes against Iran on Tuesday after three commercial vessels were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman through which roughly a fifth of the world's oil passes. US Central Command said it struck more than 80 targets, including over 60 small boats operated by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as well as missile launch sites and command centres. Iran's IRGC responded by claiming to have fired missiles and drones at 85 US military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait, including a US Navy headquarters and an air base. Iranian state media reported explosions on Qeshm island, at the port city of Bandar Abbas, and at Sirik, where several people were injured by shrapnel.

The escalation was triggered by attacks on three tankers transiting the strait. A Qatari liquefied natural gas carrier, the Al Rekayyat, was struck by a drone that caused a fire in its engine room, prompting the crew to abandon the vessel. A Saudi-flagged supertanker, the Wadyan, was also damaged, and a third vessel sustained what was described as minor structural damage. Qatar and Saudi Arabia both blamed Iran directly and said they held Tehran fully responsible. Iran did not claim responsibility for the attacks but warned that commercial vessels using routes not coordinated with Iran face risks. Tehran instead blamed the United States, arguing that Washington's efforts to open alternative shipping corridors through the strait violated a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the two countries on June 17.

At the heart of the dispute is a fundamental disagreement about who controls the Strait of Hormuz and on what terms. Iran insists that the MoU gives it authority, in coordination with Oman, to manage the reopening of the strait and to charge fees for safe passage — a position it compares to navigational services in other busy waterways. The US, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and international shipping interests reject any compulsory fee system and regard the strait as an international waterway. Iran has also refused offers from France and the UK to help de-mine and secure a southern corridor near the Omani coast, insisting that management of the strait is Iran's prerogative alone. Indirect negotiations on a permanent agreement, held in Qatar, broke down last week without progress.

The US Treasury Department compounded the pressure on Tehran by revoking a 60-day sanctions waiver that had temporarily authorised the sale of Iranian oil as part of the June ceasefire. Transactions will no longer be permitted after July 17, effectively cutting off a key source of Iranian revenue that had been granted as a goodwill gesture during negotiations. Iran's foreign ministry described the move as a breach of the MoU and evidence of American bad faith. Oil markets responded sharply: Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose more than 3 percent to above $76 a barrel, its highest level in two weeks.

The events represent the most serious breakdown in the ceasefire that halted open conflict between the US and Iran, which began in February with US and Israeli strikes across the Islamic Republic. The 14-point MoU had been intended to provide a 60-day window for negotiations on a permanent deal, but the latest round of strikes and counter-strikes has thrown that timeline into serious doubt. Analysts warn that Iran's determination to assert control over the strait, combined with Washington's refusal to accept any fee regime, could keep passage levels well below pre-war levels for months, with periodic outbreaks of hostilities keeping both energy markets and global diplomacy on edge.