The flames of war in the Middle East have reignited despite best efforts to mediate a cease fire between Iran and the US. It seems that both the sides have put forth maximalist demands and the ceasefire agreement hammered out between the two sides after painstaking negotiations was so vague that both sides interpreted it in the manner best suited to them. Little wonder, war has resumed with uncertain consequences for the rest of the world, especially countries like India in this part of the world which depend on the Strait of Hormuz for their oil supplies.
Now more than the nuclear ambitions of Iran, it is the control over this vital waterway which has become the bone of contention. Iran says it will exclusively control the waterway and will charge a fee from ships passing through it. The US says that it will control the waterway and ensure that it is free to use by ships from around the world. The US President, briefly toyed with the idea of charging a fee for ensuring safety of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz but has since backed down on this.
In the meantime, the US intensified its strikes on Iran, hitting targets farther north and firing into a ship the US accused of trying to break its naval blockade on the Islamic Republic. Iran retaliated by launching missiles and drones at US allies in the region, and warned its attacks may escalate.
The interim ceasefire agreed to last month has collapsed, and the region risks tipping back into all-out war after days of back-and-forth strikes by the U.S. and Iran as they wage for control over the Strait of Hormuz. For the first time in this latest round of violence, strikes also reached into areas around Tehran, showing a widening set of targets for the Americans.
The Iranian military has threatened that Iran could launch widespread attacks on “all the infrastructure in the region” if the US acts on President Donald Trump’s repeated warnings that America could hit Iranian bridges and power plants. Under no circumstances and in no way will Iran allow America… to interfere in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has also asked Houthis to stand ready to close the Red Sea oil route if the US strikes Iranian power infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Houthis warned they will target Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities and other infrastructure if conflict escalates between the two sides, days after the airport in the rebel-held capital Sanaa was struck. The US strikes have hit around Tehran. American attacks also targeted Semnan province, home to Iran’s ballistic missile production and space programme.
Iranian media also reported strikes around the provinces of Hamedan, Hormozgan, Khuzestan, Lorestan, Markazi, and Sistan and Baluchestan, as well as on Iran’s Qeshm island, near the Strait of Hormuz.. An attack on Greater Tunb Island targeted Iranian defense and missile sites. Greater Tunb Island is one of three small rocky islands that sit at the confluence of the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz — seized in 1971 by Iran from what would become the United Arab Emirates — and have become a garrison for Iran that help it exert significant control over the strait.