The US military has launched a fresh round of strikes against Iran – the second in the last 48 hours – after president Donald Trump declared the fragile ceasefire agreement between the two sides was “over”. Trump said the latest attacks were in “retribution” for Iranian strikes on three cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump, in an angry tirade, referred to the Iranian leadership as “scum”
Trump added that if there were further attacks on shipping “it will get much worse!” The strikes hit a railway bridge in Iran’s northeast, according to Iranian state media, as well as a military base in the coastal city of Bushehr, which is the site of the country’s only civilian nuclear plant.
In return, Iran’s military claims to have hit targets in Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait, warning that it would do so again if American attacks continued.
The renewed military confrontation has sparked widespread fears of the renewal of all-out war in the Middle East. It is certainly the most extensive exchange of fire between the two sides since the interim deal – referred to as the memorandum of understanding – was signed last month. It makes the task of turning that agreement into a permanent deal to end the war that much harder.
