The US and Iran Exchange Strikes in the Persian Gulf 0 14

One of the largest combat confrontations between the US and Iran since the ceasefire came into effect on April 8 occurred. The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched ballistic missiles and drones at neighboring Gulf states - Kuwait and Bahrain - on the night of Wednesday, June 3. According to Tehran, the targets were American military bases in the region.

In turn, American forces struck an Iranian military facility on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz. The US Central Command (Centcom) reported that it successfully intercepted several ballistic missiles and drones, shot down three Iranian drones launched at civilian vessels legally present in the region's waters, and refuted the IRGC's claims of hits on the US naval base in Bahrain.

The Trigger Was an Attack on a Tanker

The new exchange of strikes was apparently triggered by a US military operation conducted on June 2 near Hark Island, which is important for Iranian oil exports: the US Army attacked an unloaded oil tanker attempting to enter an Iranian port in defiance of the American maritime blockade, ignoring warnings and was disabled by a missile.

An Iranian military representative confirmed the IRGC's retaliatory strikes on the social network X, warning that any threat to the security of the Strait of Hormuz would come at a "high cost" to American forces.

Escalation Amid Negotiations

This is not the first exchange of strikes since the ceasefire began; however, each such attack heightens fears of a new escalation of war. The clashes occur against the backdrop of stalled negotiations on a framework agreement aimed at ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz to shipping - a strategically important artery of the global economy through which oil, liquefied natural gas, and fertilizers are exported.

Iran established control over the strait shortly after the US and Israel's attack. The US, in turn, imposed a maritime blockade preventing Iranian oil exports.

US President Donald Trump confirmed on Tuesday that negotiations between Washington and Tehran are ongoing, calling reports of their cessation "fake news and disinformation." "Where they will lead is unknown, but I told Iran: it’s time to make a deal one way or another," he wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Iranian agencies Fars and Tasnim, close to the IRGC, previously reported a suspension of negotiations, linking it to the ongoing war of Israel against the Lebanese radical group Hezbollah. Trump announced on June 1 the cessation of hostilities in Lebanon. Political negotiations between representatives of Israel and Lebanon are set to resume in Washington on June 3 - while Hezbollah itself refuses to negotiate with Israel, and the Lebanese government is not a party to the conflict.