Iran’s foreign ministry has condemned US strikes on the southern Hormozgan province as a “gross violation” of the fragile ceasefire that has been in place since early April, escalating tensions in a region already on edge.
The commander of the Revolutionary Guard’s Aerospace Force, Seyed Majid Moosavi, stated on X that his forces are prepared to respond, criticizing ongoing diplomacy by asserting that “negotiation with the enemy is pure loss.” He emphasized that the air force, which oversees Iran’s strategic ballistic missile and drone programs, remains “highly vigilant, fully prepared for a decisive, swift response,” awaiting final orders from the commander-in-chief.
Both sides had previously indicated progress on a memorandum of understanding that could halt the war and restart shipping through the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global oil supplies.
Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Baqr Qalibaf, along with the foreign minister and central bank governor, were in Doha on Monday for talks with Qatar’s prime minister on a potential deal, according to an official briefed on the visit. Qalibaf has since returned to Iran after consultations with Qatari officials, state television reported.
Qalibaf has been seeking agreement on the release of about $24 billion in Iranian funds frozen overseas as part of the memorandum, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported, citing a source close to the negotiating team. Iran’s Fars news agency cited a source saying that the unfreezing of the funds was the last serious sticking point for the memorandum to be finalized.
According to Iranian sources, an initial deal would cover ending the war on all fronts, establishing a 30-day framework for movement through the Strait of Hormuz, and possibly providing some financial relief, with more complex issues such as Iran’s nuclear program to be negotiated in a second phase.
Iran has been letting some ships through, giving preference to vessels linked to countries with which it has alliances or close ties, and striking government-to-government agreements, Reuters reported.
US President Donald Trump has said his key aim in the war is to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon with its highly enriched uranium. Tehran has consistently denied it has plans to do that. Trump had said talks with Iran were going “nicely” in a lengthy post on Truth Social on Monday, but warned of new attacks if they failed. “It will only be a Great Deal for all, or no Deal at all,” he wrote.
Following strikes against targets that the US said included boats attempting to lay mines and missile launch sites, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on his plane in India’s Jaipur that the Strait of Hormuz had to be open “one way or the other.” US Central Command said on Monday it had carried out new strikes designed “to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces.”
United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Tuesday that a tanker had reported an external explosion on the vessel’s port side, close to the waterline, 60 nautical miles from Oman’s capital Muscat. UKMTO said the vessel and its crew were safe, although some bunker fuel was discharged into the sea.
The war, which began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, has caused an unprecedented oil supply shock, pushing up oil prices along with the costs of fuel, fertilizer, and food.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said on Tuesday they reserved the right to retaliate. They said air defense units had downed a US drone and fired at another drone and a fighter jet, which they said had entered Iranian airspace over the Gulf region.
In comments posted on his Telegram channel on the occasion of the annual hajj pilgrimage, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said, “The clock cannot be turned back, and the nations and lands of the region will no longer be a shield for American bases.”
In another indication of the region’s tensions, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel would intensify strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon. After the announcement, Israel increased the frequency and severity of attacks. Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said 12 people were killed in Israeli overnight strikes on the town of Mashghara.
Lorenzo Kamel, a professor of history at the University of Turin in Italy, told Al Jazeera that for a US-Iran peace agreement to work, Washington must “rein in” Netanyahu. “Netanyahu needs to play as the indispensable wartime leader, at least until the Israeli elections. He knows, without this continuous escalation, he would weaken his position,” Kamel said.
Meanwhile, analyst Mohammad Eslamy of the University of Tehran told Al Jazeera that it is possible that Iran could attack the United Arab Emirates again if Israel keeps on bombing Lebanon. “Donald Trump is thinking about some kind of military escalation in the Persian Gulf in order to put pressure on the Iranians while they are discussing many important aspects of a so-called deal with the United States,” Eslamy said.
Source: www.aljazeera.com