The United States reimposed a naval blockade on all Iranian ports and carried out a fourth consecutive night of airstrikes on Tuesday, targeting dozens of military sites near the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) responded by launching missile and drone attacks on US military facilities in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan, and declared that the strategic waterway “will remain closed until the United States ends its acts of aggression.” The renewed hostilities effectively dismantle the 60-day ceasefire memorandum signed in Islamabad on 17 June, which had paused fighting and lifted an earlier blockade.

According to US Central Command (CENTCOM), the strikes aimed to “degrade Iranian capabilities used to attack commercial shipping” and were conducted by fighter jets, drones, and naval vessels over seven hours. President Donald Trump, in a Fox News interview, warned that unless Iran returns to negotiations, the campaign would escalate next week to target power plants and bridges—infrastructure whose deliberate attack is prohibited under the Geneva Conventions. Trump also reversed his earlier plan to impose a 20 per cent transit fee on all vessels using the strait, stating that Gulf states would instead make “massive” trade and investment deals with the United States. Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, said the US had “dismantled” the memorandum and that Tehran no longer considered itself bound by its terms, insisting it would “exercise full sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, no matter the costs.”

The military exchanges have had immediate economic and humanitarian consequences. Oil prices rose to their highest level in four weeks, and shipping traffic through the strait—through which roughly one-fifth of global oil and gas trade normally passes—has virtually stalled. The International Maritime Organization reported that at least two crew members were killed and several wounded in attacks on commercial tankers. Kuwait said four of its naval personnel were injured when an Iranian missile struck a vessel, while Bahrain and Jordan intercepted incoming projectiles. Iran’s health ministry said more than 260 people were wounded in the latest US strikes, and the government reported at least 30 civilian deaths in recent days.

Viewed from regional capitals, the conflict has drawn in multiple states hosting American forces, with Gulf governments condemning Iranian strikes as violations of sovereignty. The United Nations human rights chief previously warned that deliberately attacking civilian infrastructure constitutes a war crime. With the ceasefire framework now inoperative, no diplomatic track is active. Trump stated that US strikes would continue “until I say it’s enough,” while Iran’s leadership signalled it would not seek negotiations under military pressure. The immediate outlook is for further escalation, with the US president explicitly linking the next phase of targeting to Tehran’s refusal to return to talks.