Hormuz oil route under fire as US-Iran truce collapses
A fragile US-Iran ceasefire has disintegrated into fresh military strikes and threats of massive retaliation, putting Europe's critical energy supply routes through the Strait of Hormuz at renewed risk.
US President Donald Trump has declared a June ceasefire agreement with Iran dead and threatened to "completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran" if Tehran acts on threats against his life. The warning, posted overnight on Truth Social, claimed that "1,000 missiles are locked and loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of more to immediately follow, should the Iranian government act on its threat." Trump ended the post with the phrase "praise be to Allah."
The rhetorical escalation follows a physical one. US Central Command confirmed it hit roughly 170 Iranian air defence and military targets on Tuesday and Wednesday to "further degrade Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping" in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran responded by attacking US military bases in Bahrain and Kuwait.
For European economies, the immediate danger lies in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical oil and gas transit chokepoint. Iran effectively closed the route after the conflict began in February, sparking chaos in energy markets. A British maritime agency has already reported multiple new strikes on transiting tankers this week.
The violence shatters a June memorandum of understanding designed to end the conflict. Under its terms, Washington was to lift a naval blockade while Tehran would reopen the strait and reaffirm it "shall not procure or develop nuclear weapons." The two sides had 60 days to forge a final deal, but Trump announced on Friday that the ceasefire was over.
Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, accused Washington of torpedoing the agreement first. "Iran has so far kept its word, unlike the so-called US Treasury Secretary who is violating Para 9 of the MoU," he wrote on social media. That specific paragraph prohibits the US from imposing new sanctions, yet the Treasury announced fresh measures against an Iranian financier and exchange houses on Friday.
"That violation follows other violations and missteps by the United States. Reality check: There can only be mutual compliance," Araghchi added. The foreign minister is scheduled to arrive in Oman on Saturday for talks on the strait's status.
The targeting of commercial vessels has drawn sharp regional condemnation. Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson, Majed Al Ansari, blamed Iran for a strike on a Qatari tanker, calling it an "unacceptable attack on the security & safety of international maritime navigation." Doha held Tehran "fully legally responsible for this attack and for any resulting damages and consequences," a claim Iran denies, though a Qatari delegation is now in Tehran attempting to mediate.
