Iran – United States: an on-and-off war

It was to be expected. The ceasefire signed on 17 April between the United States and Iran did not last long, as hostilities resumed last week. Whilst the agreement was aimed in particular at reopening the strategic Strait of Hormuz, Iran is asserting its control by force and announced on Sunday 12 July that it would close the strait until the end of US ‘aggressions’. The very next day, Washington responded by imposing a blockade on Iranian ports and is now attempting to divert maritime traffic through Omani waters to bypass Tehran. The resurgence of tensions is also illustrated by six nights of US strikes on Iranian soil and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes against Gulf states. Under pressure from rising global oil prices and the unpopularity of the war just a few months before the mid-term elections, Donald Trump is nevertheless seeking to continue negotiations, as Iran too has no interest in seeing the conflict escalate.

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