Trump threatens trade with Iran after memorandum collapses
After fighting resumed this week, President Trump issued harsh threats to Iran, and Iranian leaders accused the US of violating the deal.
WASHINGTON – The U.S. military announced on Saturday, July 11, that it had launched a new offensive against Iran after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attacked a Cyprus-flagged container ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
“One civilian crew member is missing, and due to a fire on board and significant damage to the engine room, the ship cannot continue sailing,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement about the X.
U.S. Central Command said the airstrike was carried out at the direction of President Donald Trump.
Iran announced on Sunday, July 12, that it had closed the Strait of Hormuz after a ship sailed through an unauthorized route and was struck, and warned that any retaliation for the incident would be met with a “stern response.”
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy said in a statement that “a vessel that jeopardized maritime security by turning off its systems was hit and stopped,” without providing further details about the vessel.
The statement said several ships attempted to cross the waterway on “unauthorized routes” and ignored warnings to correct course.
The Revolutionary Guards said the strait would be closed “until further notice” and “until the end of U.S. interference in the region.”
The Navy said any act of aggression against Iran “will be met with a harsh response and new enemy bases in the region will be targeted.”
The United States is demanding that Iran stop attacking ships in the strait and open all shipping lanes through the waterway toll-free, a senior US official told reporters on July 10.
President Trump announced Friday that the United States and Iran agreed this week to continue talks despite escalating hostilities, while also declaring an end to the ceasefire.
A senior Iranian government official told Reuters that Iran, the United States, Qatar and Pakistan agreed to the talks in a telephone conversation arranged for Saturday by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arakchi while in Oman.
It was not immediately clear whether the effort was successful. Araqchi and Omani Foreign Minister Saeed Badr al-Busaidi met in Oman to exchange “opinions on appropriate mechanisms for the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz,” according to a statement from Iran’s foreign minister.
Oman’s state news agency later announced that Omani and Iranian negotiators would continue talks “at a technical and political level.”
Oman is helping broker an end to the war that has destabilized the Gulf and raised prices around the world since the United States and Israel began airstrikes on Iran on February 28.
Before the war, about one-fifth of the world’s oil supplies passed through the Strait of Hormuz, but Iran’s de facto blockade of the waterway sent energy prices soaring and fueled global inflation.
Additional reporting by Parisa Hafezi,STebe Holland, Enas Alashley, Ahmed Elimam, Eman Abuhasira, Andrew Mills. Written by Kim Coghill, Tom Perry, Philippa Fletcher, Alexandra Alper
