US Denies Role as Explosions Rock Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Plant
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- CENTCOM told Al Jazeera the US military had not carried out any strikes in Iran in the past several hours after explosions were reported in Bushehr, Choghadak, Konarak, and Bandar Abbas (the Bandar Abbas report was later denied)
- Bushehr's deputy governor Ehsan Jahanian attributed the city blast to air defense systems and said a military headquarters on the city's outskirts was struck by what he described as a projectile
- Netanyahu declared the Iran war "not ended" at a Hatzerim Air Base graduation ceremony after a phone call with Trump about continued coordination and Trump's update on "American moves in the Gulf"
- Israel's Army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said "major operations are still expected" and told troops to "be prepared," while Defense Minister Israel Katz said the army is ready to "strike Iran again, to eliminate threats, including a third time if necessary"
- Iran attacked commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, hitting vessels from Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and is insisting all traffic pass next to its shore — prompting a GCC joint statement condemning the attacks
- Trump called Iranian leadership "scum," declared the mid-June MoU "over," and removed a waiver on Iranian oil exports — though neither side has formally retreated from the deal
- Technical talks with Iran have been suspended for the funeral of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, killed February 28 in the US-Israeli war, with Monday's scheduled resumption now uncertain
Why it matters: With CENTCOM denying strikes while Israel openly preps a third round of attacks on Iran and Trump tearing up the June MoU and oil export waivers, the US-Iran-Israel ceasefire has functionally collapsed — commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, where Iranian attacks already hit Qatari and Saudi vessels, is now a direct theater of the conflict threatening Gulf energy supply routes.
