Summary

The U.S. launched fresh airstrikes against Iranian targets Tuesday, raising fears of a broader return to hostilities as Tehran threatened to choke off Gulf oil exports and escalating tensions rattled global energy markets. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said American forces began striking targets belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) at noon ET (4 p.m. GMT). CENTCOM said the operation followed recent attempted IRGC attacks against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and U.S. military personnel deployed in the region. Iranian state media reported explosions on Qeshm Island, located along the northern side of the strategic waterway. The state-linked Nour News also reported explosions in the southern port cities of Bandar Abbas and Chabahar. The strikes came after a weekend exchange of direct attacks between Washington and Tehran, the first since July, raising questions over whether a conflict that had increasingly shifted toward sanctions, blockades and economic pressure was again entering a more intense military phase. Oil prices had already climbed following the weekend escalation and reports that two tankers were struck while leaving the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global energy supplies that Iran has effectively closed to shipping. The six-month conflict had largely evolved into an economic standoff before U.S. forces struck Iran’s Larak Island on Sunday. Tehran responded by launching missiles at two U.S. air bases in Jordan. President Donald Trump warned that Washington would hit Iran “hard” in response to renewed Iranian attacks but said Monday that the latest confrontation did not necessarily mark a return to full-scale war. A senior Iranian source similarly described the weekend exchange as a “limited and contained confrontation.” However, pledges by both sides to retaliate against further attacks have underscored the risk of rapid escalation. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said earlier Tuesday that Tehran was prepared to reciprocate immediately if Washington returned to its commitments under a June memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the conflict. The agreement declared an end to fighting that has killed thousands in Iran and Lebanon since U.S. and Israeli strikes began Feb. 28. It left several major disputes unresolved and opened a broader 60-day negotiation period that expired without another agreement. “I am stating clearly that if the U.S. returns to its commitments under the Memorandum of Understanding, the Islamic Republic of Iran will immediately reciprocate,” Pezeshkian said in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, where he was attending a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. Despite the renewed diplomatic message, other Iranian officials maintained a defiant stance as Washington intensified pressure. “If the enemy wants us not to export oil from the Persian Gulf, no one will be able to export oil,” Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf was quoted as saying by Iranian media. Qalibaf warned that Tehran would respond militarily if the U.S. intensified what he described as its “siege.” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei also accused Washington of making excessive demands and treating negotiations as an opportunity to dictate terms. “As long as they act in this manner, they will certainly get no result other than what they have achieved so far,” Baghaei said, adding that Iran would use its capabilities “whether on the battlefield or through our diplomatic apparatus.” The renewed strikes came as U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signaled that Washington was preparing additional sanctions against Tehran, adding another layer of economic pressure to an increasingly volatile military confrontation.