Iran’s top diplomat warned Sunday that any attempt by ships to bypass Tehran’s preferred shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz would escalate tensions in the Middle East, as US and Iranian forces once again exchanged attacks across the strategic waterway.
These clashes highlighted the fragility of a Pakistan-brokered truce meant to end the US- and Israeli-led war that began in February, which disrupted shipping through the strait and shook global energy markets. Although a ceasefire has been in place since April, occasional violence continues to flare in the Gulf, often triggered by passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
Early Sunday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced strikes on 10 Iranian military targets, citing “continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping.” Iran responded with retaliatory attacks on US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, both of which condemned the strikes.
Tehran has maintained its demand to control passage through the critical strait—an artery for a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas insisting that ships use a corridor close to Iranian shores. However, dozens of vessels have recently opted for the Omani side of the channel.
Any attempt to adopt new or separate arrangements compared to what is underway by the Islamic Republic of Iran will only lead to more complicated situations and delays in the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and will increase the tensions, said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, urging all parties to adhere to the recent memorandum of understanding (MoU).
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced Sunday they would more strictly enforce traffic controls in the strait, warning that violators would face harsher measures. Mohammad Mokhber, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, wrote on X that as long as Iran managed the strait, Washington would not achieve its regional ambitions.
Under the MoU reached this month to bring a lasting end to the conflict, Iran agreed to allow commercial vessels safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz without charge for 60 days. Still, experts predict further incidents. “A drawn-out negotiation accompanied by controlled pressure in the strait can work to its advantage,” said HA Hellyer of the Royal United Services Institute in London.
The agreement between the US and Iran committed all sides and their allies not to initiate hostilities or threaten force. Yet both sides have since accused each other of violating the fragile peace. US President Donald Trump warned Saturday that if the US resumed the war, Iran would no longer exist, after American forces struck Iranian missile and drone sites in response to an Iranian drone attack on the Panama-flagged oil tanker Kiku one of several strikes in recent days.
Meanwhile, Israel launched strikes in Lebanon after Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem rejected a deal to end that conflict, threatening to undermine the broader US-Iran peace effort. Iran called Israel’s actions a blatant violation of the truce.
Hezbollah official Hassan Fadlallah cautioned Sunday that Lebanon could face internal conflict over the agreement with Israel, which aims to disarm the Iran-backed militia. Lebanon was drawn into the conflict in March, when Hezbollah attacked Israel and Israel responded with heavy bombardment and a ground offensive.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon was an essential condition for reaching a final and lasting agreement to secure the region.
Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf told Lebanese parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri that Tehran was seriously pursuing an end to Israeli occupation in Lebanon. On Sunday, Lebanese state media reported a new Israeli strike in southern Lebanon, while the Israeli military reported a soldier killed in fighting there.
