US President Donald Trump has said an interim agreement to end the war with Iran was “over” after Tehran carried out new attacks on US bases in the Gulf.
In a flare-up of hostilities that pushed oil prices up sharply, Iran said it had targeted US military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait after US forces struck Iranian targets in response to attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, reports RTE.
The attacks further undermined a shaky ceasefire agreement and dented hopes of turning the memorandum of understanding signed on 17 June into a permanent peace deal to end the war, which began with US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran on 28 February.
Asked before a NATO summit in Turkey whether the memorandum of understanding was over, Mr Trump said: “It’s a very interesting question. To me, I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them,” reports RTE.
“They’re scum. They’re sick people. They’re led by sick people,” he told reporters in Ankara. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s just a waste of time dealing with them.”
Although Mr Trump has at times stepped back from threats he has made against Iran, oil prices surged and stocks fell after his latest comments, reports RTE.
The renewed hostilities have also heightened safety and security concerns around the Strait of Hormuz, with shipping data showing at least four oil and gas tankers had turned back rather than try to transit the waterway, a vital supply route.
Oil prices jumped and global bond markets tumbled, with Brent crude futures leaping 5%, the most in a day since late May, to $78 a barrel, reports RTE.
While that was far below the peaks above $120 seen during the height of the fighting, it was enough to inject some fresh inflation risk into the bond market, particularly since months of conflict have drawn down global oil inventories.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted US military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait and that they had shot down a US MQ-9 drone attempting to interfere in the operation, reports RTE.
The US had earlier unleashed new military strikes and revoked a licence allowing Iran to sell oil in response to attacks on three tankers in the strait.
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The US Central Command said more than 60 small boats used by the Revolutionary Guards were among the targets hit in an operation it said was intended to impose a heavy cost on Iran for strikes on shipping in violation of the ceasefire, reports RTE.
“The unwarranted aggression by Iranian forces is a clear and dangerous violation of the ceasefire and undermines freedom of navigation,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told reporters before the NATO summit that the new attacks by the US on Iran were “absolutely necessary,” reports RTE.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas later said on X: “The exchanges of fire between the US and Iran further complicate already fraught talks to end the war. Iran’s attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait are unacceptable.”
Iran’s top joint military command condemned the US strikes as a “blatant act of aggression,” threatened a “crushing response,” and warned that Tehran would not allow US interference in the management of the strait, reports RTE.
A top Iranian negotiator, parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, accused the US of breaching the ceasefire agreement.
He cited not only the latest US military strikes, but renewed oil sanctions, violations of Iranian “adjustments” in the Strait of Hormuz and Israeli attacks against Lebanon, reports RTE.
“The era of bullying and extortion is over,” Mr Qalibaf said in a post on X. “We don’t fold.”
Iranian media earlier reported explosions in Iran’s main oil hub of Kharg Island, on Qeshm Island and in the southern port cities of Sirik and Bandar Abbas, reports RTE.
Iran’s Press TV reported several blasts were heard in southern Kharg Island, though CENTCOM made no mention of Kharg Island, from which Iran exports 90% of its crude oil.
A US official told Reuters that strikes targeted Iranian air defence systems, coastal surveillance systems, surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship cruise missiles and drone launch sites, reports RTE.
No civilian deaths were reported in Iran.
Control of the Strait of Hormuz has given Tehran immense leverage, effectively allowing it to force a stalemate with the world’s most powerful military, reports RTE.
Analysts say Tehran uses attacks on ships to underscore that leverage as it negotiates a long-term peace deal with the US.
Under the interim US-Iran agreement, the US Treasury issued a 22 June general licence to allow the sale of crude oil and petrochemical and petroleum products of Iranian origin through 21 August, reports RTE.
In revoking that licence the previous day, it gave Iran until 17 July to wind down any transactions.
Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the move as a breach of the framework agreement to end the war and said Washington would bear responsibility for the consequences, reports RTE.
The ministry said Iran would take any measure it deemed necessary to safeguard its interests and national security, reports RTE.
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