After three weeks of relative calm, tensions escalated again in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran attacked three ships, including a Qatari LNG tanker and a Saudi crude oil tanker. The attacks came as the NATO summit in Ankara was underway, shifting leaders’ attention back to the Middle East and away from the question of how far European NATO members can rely on their US ally.
The US retaliated with airstrikes on Iranian targets. Iran responded with strikes on targets in Qatar and Bahrain. Further incidents followed in the night between Wednesday and Thursday 9.
The latest strife in the Strait of Hormuz brought about strong rhetoric on both sides. President Donald Trump declared the 14-point US-Iran memorandum of understanding (MoU) dead at one stage on Wednesday. He qualified his statement later that he would allow his negotiators (Vice President JD Vance, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and son in law Jarard Kushner) to continue negotiating. The Iranian side also did not hold back with their interpretation of the situation.
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Where does this leave the fraught peace process, oil markets and the global economy?
