The situation in the Middle East has escalated sharply after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced a complete and indefinite suspension of shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Tehran has vowed not to allow any commercial ship to pass through the route until the situation in the region is “normalized”. Despite the critical military situation and the breakdown of the temporary truce on the ground, Washington and Tehran have not completely severed diplomatic channels. US Ambassador to the UN Michael Waltz confirmed that technical teams from both sides are continuing negotiations on Iran's nuclear program.
The blockade of Hormuz and the new wave of strikes
Iran's declaration to close the Strait of Hormuz - a key artery through which nearly a fifth of the world's oil exports pass - came after another dramatic weekend of clashes. According to Reuters and CNN, Iranian forces fired on several commercial vessels, including the UAE-flagged container ship “GFS Galaxy“, whose crew was forced to abandon ship due to a fire. Tehran accused the vessels of using “unauthorized“ and “illegal” routes in the strait.
In response, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) launched a massive third wave of air and missile strikes, hitting more than 140 targets along the southern coast of Iran, including the port cities of Bandar Abbas, Jask and Qeshm Island. According to the US military command, the strikes targeted radar systems, drone warehouses and missile positions of the KGIR.
In turn, Iran launched retaliatory attacks with missiles and drones against US sites and allied countries in the Persian Gulf. Local authorities and sources of Agence France-Presse confirmed that sirens and air defenses were activated in Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Oman and Qatar, with debris falling and three injured citizens reported in Doha.
Meanwhile, the International Maritime Organization of the United Nations has warned that due to the escalation, more than 6,000 sailors and hundreds of ships remain stranded in the region. Despite Iranian threats, the Joint Maritime Information Center and CENTCOM announced that the Strait of Hormuz de facto remains open to commercial traffic through the southern corridor, which passes through Omani territorial waters and is guarded by the international coalition.
Diplomacy under fire: Nuclear talks continue
Amid the crumbling ceasefire agreement signed in June, the US administration has demonstrated a pragmatic approach to resolving the fundamental conflict. In an interview with CBS television, US Ambassador to the UN Michael Walz said that expert teams from both sides are still talking about the technical parameters of the nuclear file.
“These experts are still talking, even though the ceasefire on the ground has practically collapsed“, Walz stressed. However, he was adamant that Washington does not believe Tehran's claims that the attacks on ships are the work of "uncontrollable hardline groups" in Iran. According to him, the Iranian regime is strictly centralized and its actions in the strait are a deliberate attempt to exert pressure. The ambassador reminded that the 60-day window agreed upon in the June memorandum for reaching a final agreement has already passed halfway. "Iran is not fulfilling its obligations and all options remain on the table," added Waltz.
The main US demand for the restoration of the diplomatic process is that Iran immediately hand over its accumulated stockpile of over 400 kilograms of highly enriched uranium (called "nuclear dust" by the Donald Trump administration) and publicly guarantee the free passage of ships. The White House has already stepped up economic pressure, with the US Treasury Department revoking a short-lived license allowing Iran to sell crude oil - a move that threatens the Iranian economy with complete isolation and a new collapse of the national currency.
Revenge speech and Trump's shadow
Adding fuel to the fire was the first written statement by Iran's new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who took office after the assassination of his father Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes in late February. The young Khamenei vowed to avenge his father's death, saying that retribution would be carried out "regardless of what happens to Iran and whether the current leaders survive".
The statement came hours after US President Donald Trump warned on his Twitter account that he had ordered the US military to be on full combat alert. Trump threatened that the US would "totally obliterate" Iran if Tehran made any attempt to assassinate him or senior US officials - a warning reinforced by shared intelligence from Israel about Iranian plots.
Regional mediators Oman, Qatar and Pakistan are continuing to shuttle in an attempt to organize an emergency teleconference of talks and find a compromise option - such as Muscat's proposal to divide traffic into a northern (Iranian) and southern (Omani) corridor. So far, however, positions remain sharply divided: Tehran insists on lifting the blockade of its ports and releasing frozen assets, while Washington refuses to make concessions before Hormuz is completely pacified and the nuclear materials are handed over.