The United States and Iran have exchanged fresh military strikes in recent hours, with both nations accusing the other of breaching the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed earlier this month to secure a ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The escalation casts grave doubt over the future of the fragile truce and threatens the stability of global energy supplies.
The latest escalation followed fresh U.S. strikes on military targets in Iran and retaliatory missile and drone attacks claimed by Tehran against multiple U.S. military installations in the region, with both sides blaming each other for breaching the ceasefire.
The U.S. military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said U.S. forces carried out additional strikes against multiple military targets in Iran on June 27 at the direction of President Donald Trump. It said the operation targeted military surveillance infrastructure, communications systems, air defence sites, drone storage facilities and mine-laying capabilities.
CENTCOM said the strikes were launched after what it described as continued Iranian attacks on commercial shipping, including a one-way drone strike on the Panama-flagged tanker M/T Kiku near the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. military said the vessel was carrying more than two million barrels of crude oil.
Iran, meanwhile, said its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched a large-scale missile and drone operation between 2:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m. local time on June 28 against eight U.S. military installations across the region, including Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait and the U.S. Fifth Fleet headquarters at Salman Port in Bahrain, according to Iranian state media. The IRGC described the operation as a “decisive response” to what it called renewed U.S. military action against Iranian territory.
Earlier, U.S. forces conducted strikes against Iranian targets on June 26 in response to what it described as a June 25 attack on a commercial vessel transiting the Strait of Hormuz, according to CENTCOM. Later, IRGC targeted U.S. military positions after accusing Washington of violating the ceasefire, according to Iranian state media.
The latest escalation came despite a June 17 memorandum of understanding, electronically signed by the United States and Iran, that was intended to extend their ceasefire, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and halt hostilities