US launches further strikes on Iran and announces escalation

Background: Strait of Hormuz as a flashpoint

On the return flight from the NATO summit in Ankara to Washington, US President Donald Trump effectively declared the ceasefire to have failed. "As far as I'm concerned, it's over," said Trump. It was "a complete waste of time" to "deal with" the leadership in Tehran. At the same time, he left a back door open for negotiations: "I will allow our wonderful negotiators to keep talking if they want, but I don't see it."

Trump accused the Iranian leadership of breaking agreed-upon arrangements. "They violate the agreement every day," he said. The leadership in Tehran agrees to everything and then holds press conferences at which it claims there was no agreement at all: "Sie stimmen allem zu und dann geben sie eine Pressekonferenz und sagen, wir hätten nicht einmal darüber geredet." Trump described the Iranian leadership as "scum." When asked by a journalist why Iran was attacking commercial vessels if it was interested in an agreement, Trump said: "Weil sie etwas verrückt sind."

On his platform, Trump threatened further intensified attacks: "Sollte sich so etwas wiederholen, wird es noch viel schlimmer kommen!" He had previously announced in Ankara: "Wir werden sie heute Nacht richtig hart treffen." The strike was a retaliatory measure for the Iranian ship attacks the previous day, Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trump's threats and negotiating position

Iranian air defenses engaged hostile targets near the city of Bandar Abbas, the Iranian news agency Mehr reported. According to Iranian government statements, at least 14 people were killed in the strikes. Online sources also reported an attack on the airport in Iranshahr, around 200 kilometers from the coast on the Gulf of Oman.

The Kuwaiti army announced that its air defenses were responding to "hostile missile and drone threats." This expanded the military confrontation beyond Iran to neighboring Gulf states.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on the platform X: "Wir begegnen Obszönitäten nicht mit Obszönitäten, sondern mit Taten: furchtlos und mit großem Mut." Iran's chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote in the early morning hours: "Amerika hat noch immer nicht begriffen, dass Einschüchterung und Wortbruch nicht mehr folgenlos bleiben. Wir knicken nicht ein." The speaker of the Iranian parliament declared: "Die Zeit der Einschüchterung und Erpressung ist vorbei."

Reactions from Iran

The Iranian Revolutionary Guards threatened in turn: should the US military repeat its aggression, they would expand their own "devastating responses" to additional US bases in the region. According to the government-aligned broadcaster Press TV, Tehran called on the United Nations Security Council to take immediate action following the renewed "large-scale" US strikes and warned Washington of the consequences.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry stated that a renewed conflict was "in nobody's interest." It added: "Wenn ihr zuschlagt, werdet ihr selbst getroffen."

Mediation efforts from Pakistan and the UN

The mediating state of Pakistan called on the US and Iran to show restraint in light of the renewed military escalation. "Pakistan fordert alle Seiten nachdrücklich auf, ihre jeweiligen Verpflichtungen aus dem Islamabad-Memorandum of Understanding einzuhalten," said the Pakistani Foreign Ministry, referring to the framework agreement for a peace solution concluded between the US and Iran in mid-June.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres was "very concerned" and called on "all parties to exercise maximum restraint, avoid any further escalation and take immediate steps to de-escalate," said his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

Already on Tuesday, the US Treasury Department had reimposed sanctions on Iranian oil. Trump had previously, at the NATO summit in Turkey, effectively declared the framework agreement with Iran for ending the war to have failed and also threatened attacks on civilian targets in the Islamic Republic as well as the capture of the island of Kharg, which is important for the Iranian oil industry and handles around 90 percent of Iran's crude oil exports.

Possible duration of the new wave of strikes

According to information from the US news portal "Axios," the White House is preparing for a possible military confrontation with Iran in the strait lasting several days or even several weeks. Trump said: "Was auch immer passiert, wird sehr schnell gehen." The ceasefire had already been jeopardized several times; Trump's remarks at the NATO summit created new uncertainty that the conflict could fully reignite and lead to a renewed complete blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which is strategically important for energy trade.

After the summit, Trump flew from Ankara aboard a Boeing VC-25A to the British base Mildenhall. In the background, a photo of an explosion circulated by the US president attracted attention: according to information from the research network "Open Source Intel" on X, it was an older image that did not show the current strike. Trump had previously claimed that the Iranian leadership wanted to "absolutely conclude an agreement."