Overnight clashes in the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz have angered US President Donald Trump, who is in Ankara for a NATO Summit.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) carried out powerful strikes overnight, CENTCOM said in a statement. The goal was to “impose heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping crewed by innocent civilians in an international waterway.” Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte supported Trump’s decision to carry out the strikes, calling them "absolutely necessary.”
CENTCOM said it had struck 80 targets and completed the strikes by Wednesday. “The US strikes are in response to Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels that were transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s demonstrated aggression was unwarranted, dangerous, and a clear violation of the ceasefire.”
Status of US-Iran truce now uncertain
However, it now remains unclear if the US will go back to the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran. Iran has also claimed to carry out dozens of attacks in the Gulf. The US-Iran truce is now uncertain, CNN noted. Trump is hinting that the MOU is now over. It was supposed to stretch into next month.
The US said on Tuesday that it was reinstating sanctions on Iranian oil sales after the Iranian attacks on tankers that were transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Iran had carried out several attacks from July 6-7, including targeting a Qatari LNG tanker. Qatar is outraged. The US Treasury had authorized last month Iran oil sales until August 21 “as part of the fragile agreement between Tehran and Washington,” Reuters noted.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kuwait “expressed the State of Kuwait’s strong condemnation and denunciation of the heinous Iranian attacks that targeted the sisterly Kingdom of Bahrain today, which represent a flagrant violation of its sovereignty and a direct threat to its security, stability, and the safety of its citizens and residents on its territory,” Kuwait’s Al-Jarida said on July 8.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheik Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani received a phone call from Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi. Doha News noted. During the call, "the two sides discussed the latest diplomatic developments related to ongoing negotiations. The call comes at a sensitive moment in regional diplomacy, with tensions between Iran and the United States remaining high, periodic setbacks in mediation efforts and persistent concerns over maritime security.”
Qatar’s Sheik Mohammed “reaffirmed Qatar’s full support for mediation efforts aimed at resolving the crisis through peaceful means, stressing the need for all parties to engage in order to create conditions for progress in negotiations and reduce the risk of renewed escalation.”
Trump's statement indicates that collapse of MoU may be near
Al-Ain News in the UAE says that Trump’s recent statement “is the clearest indication yet that the agreement Trump reached with Iran is almost collapsing.”
The American president now believes that the Iranians are not negotiating in good faith. They are viewed now as “dishonest” players, and Trump is worried the US has been wasting its time in the talks. This isn’t the first time Trump has slammed Iran and its leadership. It’s possible the threats are designed to get Iran to stop its provocations.
In the UAE, Anwar Gargash, diplomatic advisor to the President of the United Arab Emirates, said that the continued Iranian attacks show Tehran’s inability to commit to turning the page on the war. Gargash said that "Iranian attacks on Qatari and Saudi commercial tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, and the repeated aggression against the sisterly countries of Bahrain and Kuwait, are a clear indication that Tehran is still unable to comply with the requirements of de-escalation and turning the page on war,” Al-Ain News in the UAE noted.
In a strong message, he wrote that “the Gulf Arab states cannot remain a target for Iran's wavering between the logic of escalation and the path of rationality, stability, and peace.”
This is an important statement. The Gulf is beginning to realize Iran won’t step back from its demands to basically control the Strait of Hormuz and dictate policy in the Gulf. This means that countries in the Gulf will want a solution that doesn’t end with attacks on ships every week and a continuing cycle of escalation and talks between Iran and the US.