The United States has carried out strikes on Iran after attacks on three commercial vessels in and near the Strait of Hormuz, escalating tensions around one of the world’s most important energy shipping routes.
US Central Command said on Tuesday that the operation had begun in response to what it described as Iranian attacks on commercial shipping in an international waterway. Centcom said the action was intended to impose costs for the targeting of vessels crewed by civilians.
In a statement issued on Tuesday night, Centcom said the strikes were a response to Iranian aggression, which it said was dangerous and in breach of a ceasefire. The United States had earlier warned that there would be consequences after the tanker incidents, which Washington described as unacceptable.
Iran rejected the US action. Iran’s deputy foreign minister said the strikes violated a memorandum of understanding signed by Washington and Tehran last month and warned that Tehran would take decisive measures. Iranian state media reported that strikes had hit Qeshm island, Bandar Abbas and Sirik, and said people had been injured by shrapnel. No deaths were reported.
The latest exchange follows several reported incidents involving tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway through which a significant share of global oil and gas supplies usually passes. Any disruption there can have consequences beyond the Gulf, affecting energy markets, shipping routes and regional security calculations.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said a tanker travelling through the strait reported a fire on Monday after an unknown projectile struck an engine room. In two separate incidents on Tuesday, one tanker reported being hit as it left the strait but was able to continue to its next destination, while another vessel reported minor structural damage after being struck, according to the organisation.
Qatar and Saudi Arabia separately condemned the attacks, saying tankers from their countries had been hit while travelling in or near the strait. Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Majed Al Ansari, said Doha held Iran responsible for an apparent targeted attack on the Al-Rekayyat. In a post on X, he called on Iran to stop actions that undermine regional security and endanger global energy supplies.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry said in a separate social media statement that Iran had targeted the Saudi tanker Wadyan as it crossed the strait. Riyadh said the incident was an attack on international navigation and the security of global energy supplies.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, rejected Qatar’s accusations, describing them as contrary to good neighbourly relations. In a statement posted on Telegram, he said vessels using routes not co-ordinated with Iran, or interfering with ship tracking, risked collision and complicated Iranian efforts to support safe transit through the strait.
The US strikes also came after Washington moved to reimpose pressure on Iran’s oil sector. Earlier on Tuesday, the US Treasury revoked a waiver that had temporarily lifted oil sanctions on Iran. The licence had allowed Iran to sell oil and petroleum products and was part of the memorandum of understanding agreed between the two countries last month.
Iran’s foreign ministry said the withdrawal of the waiver breached the memorandum and showed what it called bad faith and unreliability by the US government. The ministry said Tehran would take measures it considered necessary to protect its national interests and security.
Before Centcom announced the strikes, a US official speaking on condition of anonymity said American negotiators would continue to work in good faith towards a final agreement with Iran. The source material did not provide further detail on the status of those talks after the military action.
The memorandum signed last month extended a ceasefire between the United States and Iran. According to the terms described in the source material, the 14-point agreement aimed to end conflict on all fronts, stated that Iran would never have a nuclear weapon, and included a commitment to a $300bn fund for reconstruction and economic development, though the United States was not required to contribute to it.
The agreement also called for Iran and Oman, both of which border the Strait of Hormuz, to hold talks with other Gulf states on the future administration and maritime services of the waterway. The source material said Tehran had effectively closed the strait after US and Israeli strikes on 28 February and later sought to assert authority over shipping there, including through a body it called the Persian Gulf Strait Authority.
Iran’s Fars news agency has reported that, under the new arrangement with the United States, the strait would eventually be managed by Iran in co-ordination with Oman, potentially including service fees for ships using the route. That proposal has not been detailed in the US statements cited in the source material.
The immediate situation remains uncertain after the US strikes and Iran’s warning of a response. Governments in the region and shipping authorities are likely to remain focused on the safety of commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, where further disruption could carry wider implications for trade, energy supplies and diplomatic efforts to preserve the ceasefire.
