Hormuz Crisis Explodes Again
The United States struck more than 140 Iranian targets after an attack on a commercial ship, while Tehran retaliated across the Gulf and again declared the Strait of Hormuz closed.
The fragile pause in the U.S.–Iran war gave way to another dangerous eruption on Sunday. American forces launched a broad attack on Iranian missile, drone, naval and surveillance sites after a Cyprus-flagged container ship was struck and set ablaze in the Strait of Hormuz. One crew member remained missing. Iran answered with missile and drone attacks aimed at U.S.-linked targets across Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Jordan, widening the danger to countries that have tried to avoid being pulled directly into the conflict.
At the centre of the confrontation is the narrow waterway through which a major share of the world’s oil and gas normally moves. Iran again said the strait was closed, while Washington insisted commercial traffic continued. The competing claims leave shipowners, energy markets and Gulf governments facing the same brutal uncertainty: whether passage is truly possible, whether another vessel will be attacked, and whether each retaliatory round is bringing the region closer to a sustained war rather than back toward negotiations.
