The US-Iran conflict has entered a new phase after hostilities resumed on Monday following a month of relative calm, with Washington having shifted its focus towards what it calls an “economic war” against Tehran.
For the first time since late July, the US military announced that it had carried out strikes against “two missile launchers on Larak Island”, in the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.
Iran responded with missile and drone attacks targeting US facilities in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, while Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran did not want the war to continue.
As the conflict enters its seventh month and negotiations remain deadlocked, the renewed fighting has raised concerns in financial markets. Oil prices began rising again, with benchmark Brent crude moving above the symbolic $90-a-barrel level.
Trump threatens further strikes
US President Donald Trump warned that there would be retaliation and that the opposing side would be hit “hard”, according to comments broadcast by Fox News.
Earlier, Pezeshkian said continuing the war would be in the interests of neither Iran nor anyone else in the region, adding that Tehran was continuing to work towards reaching an agreement.
Pezeshkian was in Kyrgyzstan for a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, where he met Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Pakistan has played a mediating role in the conflict. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin were also expected at the meeting.
Iran warns of stronger retaliation
According to US Central Command (CENTCOM), the strike on Larak came after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was observed preparing to launch missiles loaded with naval mines into the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian media reported that three people were killed and seven wounded in the strikes.
Jordan, which was among the targets of the Iranian retaliation, said it had intercepted eight missiles after they entered its airspace. The UAE said it detected a drone over its territorial waters and warned of a “dangerous escalation”.
Iran’s armed forces warned neighbouring countries that there could be a “much stronger retaliation” if Washington’s forces launched any further attacks from their territory.
The Revolutionary Guards also said they had shot down two US drones over the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported in the early hours that a tanker had been hit by three “unknown projectiles” while travelling through the Strait towards its exit.
Strait of Hormuz remains at the centre of tensions
The region had experienced relative calm in recent weeks, although sporadic exchanges of fire had continued, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz.
The strategically vital waterway, through which about one-fifth of the world’s pre-war oil consumption passed, is now at the heart of the conflict. Iran has effectively closed the strait since the beginning of the war, which was triggered by a US-Israeli attack on the Islamic Republic on February 28.
In response, the US has imposed a blockade on Iranian ports in the Gulf and says it is prepared to “protect the free flow of commerce”.
CENTCOM has said it has completed mine-clearing operations along “international shipping routes”.
However, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Monday that a very large tanker attempting to cross the strait “illegally” had struck two naval mines. CENTCOM rejected the claim as “misinformation”.
Negotiations remain deadlocked
Talks aimed at ending the Middle East war remain deadlocked. The so-called Islamabad memorandum of understanding, signed by the presidents of the two countries in mid-June, collapsed before the end of the following month.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the solution was “clear and simple”, arguing that the US must honour the commitments it made when the agreement was signed.
“All will return to order,” he said.
With the conflict proving particularly unpopular in the US and congressional midterm elections approaching, the Trump administration has increasingly focused on economic pressure against Iran, which was already subject to a range of US and international sanctions.
“We will continue to apply pressure” on Tehran, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday during the start of a series of meetings in the US with his G20 counterparts.
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