US and Iran Trade Strikes as Hormuz Ceasefire Buckles
The United States struck more than 80 Iranian targets overnight — air defences, coastal radar, missile sites and some 60 fast boats — in response to the tanker attacks, and Iran answered with missiles and drones against what it called 85 US military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait. Washington also revoked the waiver permitting Iranian oil sales, reinstating sanctions suspended under last month’s memorandum. Iran’s parliament speaker declared: “The era of bullying and extortion is over… We don’t fold.”
This is the worst exchange since the June interim deal, and it unfolded while NATO’s leaders dined in Ankara — where Secretary-General Rutte called the American strikes “absolutely necessary”, saying Iran was “basically violating the ceasefire”. The strike-retaliation cycle late last month ended in a stand-down; the difference now is the sanctions snap-back, which unwinds the deal’s core economic bargain, and the funeral politics — all of this during Khamenei’s burial week, with the permanent-deal talks paused and Iran’s new leader invisible. Oil rose towards $76. Watch whether either side moves again before Thursday’s burial, and whether the talks survive the week.