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Renewed
US-Iran
Conflict
Erupts
as
Ceasefire
Collapses
Over
Shipping
Attacks
Daoud
Al-Jaber
- Middle
East
Affairs
Analysis
Tell Us
Worldwide
News
Network
WASHINGTON
/ ANKARA
— The
fragile
diplomatic
opening
between
the
United
States
and Iran
has
collapsed
into
renewed
military
conflict.
Speaking
at the
NATO
summit
in
Ankara,
Turkey,
U.S.
President
Donald
Trump
declared
that the
mid-June
interim
ceasefire
agreement
is
effectively
over,
following
a wave
of heavy
U.S.
airstrikes
hitting
more
than 80
targets
inside
Iran.
The
sudden
escalation
ends a
brief
period
of
relative
calm
that had
held
during
the
dayslong
funeral
ceremonies
for
Iran's
late
Supreme
Leader,
Ayatollah
Ali
Khamenei,
who was
killed
in the
opening
phase of
the war
on
February
28.
The
collapse
of the
truce
was
triggered
by a
series
of
maritime
hostilities
early
this
week.
According
to U.S.
Central
Command,
Iranian
forces
targeted
and
struck
three
commercial
vessels
navigating
the
vital
Strait
of
Hormuz,
including
the Al
Rekayyat,
a
massive
Qatari
liquefied
natural
gas
tanker.
In a
rapid
military
response,
Central
Command
unleashed
what it
termed
powerful
strikes
designed
to
degrade
Iran's
maritime
and
anti-ship
capabilities.
Over 80
distinct
sites
were
struck,
including
coastal
radar
installations,
command-and-control
hubs,
air
defense
networks,
and more
than 60
Islamic
Revolutionary
Guard
Corps
small
boats.
Iranian
state
media
reported
heavy
explosions
in the
southern
port
cities
of
Bandar
Abbas,
Sirik,
and
across
Qeshm
Island.
The
Revolutionary
Guard
responded
immediately,
claiming
to have
launched
a joint
missile
and
drone
operation
targeting
U.S.
military
facilities
in
neighboring
Bahrain
and
Kuwait,
while
claiming
to have
downed
an
American
MQ-9
Reaper
drone.
The
military
flare-up
has
instantly
derailed
the
14-point
Memorandum
of
Understanding
signed
on June
17,
which
had
established
a 60-day
window
for
comprehensive
peace
talks in
Qatar.
Simultaneously
with the
air
raids,
the U.S.
Treasury
Department
officially
revoked
the
temporary
sanctions
waivers
that had
permitted
Iran to
legally
export
crude
oil. The
Biden-era
restrictions,
which
had been
briefly
eased as
an
incentive
for
negotiations,
have
been
snapped
back.
Washington
has
given
international
buyers
until
July 17
to fully
wind
down all
transactions
involving
Iranian
petroleum
products.
A senior
U.S.
official
stated
that the
agreement
was
entirely
performance-based,
adding
that
Iran's
dangerous
and
unwarranted
aggression
against
international
commerce
will be
met with
severe
consequences.
The
Middle
East
crisis
has cast
a long
shadow
over the
opening
of the
NATO
summit
in
Turkey.
President
Trump
expressed
deep
frustration
with
regional
dynamics,
labeling
the
Iranian
leadership
vicious
and
violent
while
expressing
skepticism
about
continuing
the
diplomatic
track,
though
some
U.S.
envoys
report
that
lower-level
negotiators
remain
postured
to keep
channels
open in
Doha.
Host
nation
President
Recep
Tayyip
Erdogan
publicly
backed
the
American
position,
praising
Trump's
determined
stance
against
maritime
disruptions
while
thanking
allies
for
reinforcing
Turkey's
air
defenses
as the
conflict
threatens
to spill
wider
across
West
Asia.
Meanwhile,
regional
neighbors,
including
Saudi
Arabia
and
Qatar,
have
issued
sharp
condemnations
of
Iran's
latest
shipping
attacks,
warning
that
Tehran’s
efforts
to
permanently
control
or toll
the
Strait
of
Hormuz
remain a
red line
for
global
energy
security.
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