US launches strikes on Iran after tankers hit in Strait of Hormuz
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- US Central Command launched 'powerful' strikes hitting over 80 targets in Iran, including 60+ IRGC small boats in the Strait of Hormuz, in response to attacks on three oil tankers it called 'wholly unacceptable.'
- Iranian state media reported strikes hit Qeshm island, Bandar Abbas, and Sirik, causing shrapnel injuries but no deaths; Iran said the attacks targeted 'innocent individuals in an international waterway.'
- The US Treasury revoked its sanctions waiver that had allowed Iran to sell oil and petrol products — a core component of the memorandum of understanding Washington and Tehran signed last month.
- Iran's deputy foreign minister called the US strikes a violation of the memorandum and warned Tehran would 'take decisive measures'; Iran's foreign ministry accused Washington of 'bad faith, inconsistency, and unreliability.'
- Qatar and Saudi Arabia each condemned the tanker attacks, saying vessels from their countries — the Qeshm-bound Al-Rekayyat (Qatar) and the Wadyan (Saudi Arabia) — were struck, and blamed Iran directly.
- The 14-point memorandum, signed last month, extended a ceasefire ending conflict 'on all fronts,' pledged Iran would never have a nuclear weapon, and committed a $300bn (£220bn) reconstruction fund for the country.
Why it matters: The strikes breach a US-Iran memorandum signed just last month that ended conflict 'on all fronts,' and the simultaneous revocation of Iran's oil sanctions waiver rips up the economic underpinning of that same deal. With Qatar and Saudi Arabia now both claiming targeted tankers and blaming Iran, the confrontation has widened beyond a bilateral dispute — placing roughly a fifth of the world's oil and gas transit at renewed risk.
