{"id":215156,"date":"2026-06-28T01:44:40","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T01:44:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/us-iran-trade-strikes-what-to-know-will-it-unravel-the-mou-al-jazeera\/"},"modified":"2026-06-28T01:44:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T01:44:40","slug":"us-iran-trade-strikes-what-to-know-will-it-unravel-the-mou-al-jazeera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/us-iran-trade-strikes-what-to-know-will-it-unravel-the-mou-al-jazeera\/","title":{"rendered":"US, Iran trade strikes: What to know, will it unravel the MoU? – Al Jazeera"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the latest confrontations are aimed at control of the Strait of Hormuz, analysts say the deal is at risk of collapse.<\/em>
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The United States and Iran have traded strikes in the first such confrontation since a preliminary agreement was reached on June 15 to end the months-long war.
Both sides traded blame, accusing each other of violating the terms of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by US President Donald Trump and his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian.<\/p>\n

At the heart of the latest escalation lies a struggle for control of the Strait of Hormuz, which was blocked by Iran in response to the US-Israeli war. Tehran has used the waterway \u2013 a global energy chokepoint \u2013 as a geostrategic leverage point.
So, what\u2019s behind the US strikes on Iranian territory and where has Tehran returned fire? Will it unravel the agreement between the two sides?
The US Central Command said that the military\u2019s aircraft struck missile and drone storage locations and radar sites along Iran\u2019s southern coastline late on Friday, \u201cas a powerful response to yesterday\u2019s attack on a commercial ship that was transiting the Strait of Hormuz\u201d.
On Thursday, a Singapore-flagged commercial vessel, Ever Lovely, was struck by an unknown projectile off Oman\u2019s coast. Iran did not acknowledge the attack, but did not deny it either.
President Trump had called the attack \u201ca foolish violation\u201d of the ceasefire agreement, adding that US forces also intercepted three other drones launched in the same coordinated attack.
Later, the US military published a grainy black-and-white video of an explosion labelled \u201cunclassified,\u201d noting that \u201cthe unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces clearly violated the ceasefire\u201d.
\u201cIran\u2019s dangerous behavior undermined freedom of navigation as commerce increasingly flows through the vital international trade corridor,\u201d the US military added, referring to the uptick in traffic in the Strait of Hormuz since the agreement was reached.
It added that the US would continue to provide \u201csafe passage coordination and support\u201d to commercial vessels transiting the strait.
Iran said a projectile struck the area around a pier in Sirik in southern Hormozgan province.
Iran\u2019s Mehr news agency quoted the head of ports at eastern Hormozgan, who said that no damage has been caused to the Sirik port \u2013 and that it was operating normally with no damage to its equipment.
Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it responded with attacks against US military installations in the region. Tehran did not provide details about what may have been hit.
In a statement to the government news service IRNA, the IRGC warned, \u201cIn the event of repeated aggression, our response will be more extensive than this.\u201d
On Saturday, Bahrain\u2019s Foreign Ministry condemned \u201can alleged Iranian drone attack on its territory\u201d, describing it as a serious violation of sovereignty and international law. It said the incident endangered civilians and undermined regional de-escalation efforts, placing responsibility on Tehran for escalating tensions.
A tanker was hit by an unidentified projectile, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Saturday, adding that all crew are reported safe.
Late on Thursday, the IRGC warned against an alternative route in the waterway. Only routes approved by Tehran could ensure safe passage through the strategic waterway, it said.
The warning came after Oman had announced a new route in the southern section of the strait, closer to the Omani coast.
The Iranian foreign ministry condemned the latest US attacks, saying the targeting of \u201ccoastal surveillance facilities violate Article 1 of the Memorandum of Understanding,\u201d which mandates the end of hostilities on all fronts. Tehran said the US attack was also a violation of the UN Charter.
Later Mohsen Rezaei, adviser to Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, accused the US of violating Article 5 of the MoU, which states that the safe passage of commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz must be restored.
The Article 5 also stipulates that Iran and Oman would discuss the future administration and maritime services in the waterway.
Iran says it maintains the control \u2013 and the right of management \u2013 over the waterway, which has come to be Tehran\u2019s biggest bargaining chip in negotiations with the US and Israel.
Iran\u2019s de facto blockade of the strait triggered a global energy crisis. Higher fuel prices in the US caused by the war have piled political pressure on Trump to end it.
Tehran has been aiming to impose tolls or fees on ships passing through the waterway. Its leaders have asserted that the strait will never return to its pre-war status. The US and Gulf countries have rejected the idea of paying Iran for transit.
Iran first published its own map of approved navigation routes in April, directing ships to sail much closer to the Iranian coastline than before the conflict, and also set up a body to manage the strait.
Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran\u2019s deputy foreign minister, said that \u201cany credible framework must be based on coordination with Iran and the provisions of paragraph five of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding\u201d.
As per that MoU, Iran agreed to \u201cmake arrangements using its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge, for 60 days only, from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman and vice versa\u201d.
It also provides for discussions between Iran, Oman and other Gulf states over future arrangements for managing navigation through the waterway \u201cin line with the applicable international law and the sovereign rights of coastal states of the Strait of Hormuz\u201d.
The agreement does not specify what will happen after the initial 60-day period.
On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran will not be permitted to charge tolls or fees for vessels transiting the waterway.
The two sides have set 60 days to agree on a final deal.
Al Jazeera\u2019s Resul Serdar Atas, reporting from Tehran, said that the recent escalation is the main threat to the ongoing negotiations.
\u201cThe reason why Iranians are insisting on this [control over Hormuz] is because the Strait of Hormuz is the biggest leverage that Iranians have. They believe that if they lose that pressure tool, their hand is going to be significantly weakened at the negotiating table,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, told Al Jazeera that the latest strikes are \u201cdefinitely putting the MoU under immense stress\u201d.
\u201cOn the one hand, the US and Iran may continue shooting at each other in the Strait of Hormuz,\u201d he said. \u201cOn the other hand, the Israeli-Lebanese agreement appears to contradict the MoU by allowing Israel to continue to occupy parts of Lebanon.
\u201cPut together, the odds against the MoU rise sharply,\u201d he said.
Last Monday, after the first round of talks ended in Switzerland, mediators said that Washington and Tehran had agreed to set up new communication lines to ensure the Strait of Hormuz is open and end fighting in Lebanon.
But that did not prevent the latest military confrontations. \u201cIf they have disagreements about how the MoU is being applied, they can pick up the phone. But violence will be met with violence,\u201d US Vice President JD Vance said on X.
Andrea Dessi of the American University of Rome believes the recent escalation shows that \u201cthe MoU is extremely delicate and has the possibility of collapsing at any moment\u201d.
\u201cClearly, it is in the interest of both sides, Iran and the United States, not to let this escalate into a further all-out conflict,\u201d he said.
\u201cBoth sides have a specific interest in demonstrating that their ability to control or command the strait is in their hands,\u201d the analyst said.
\u201cTherefore, this is setting up something of a tension and a potential clash which could spiral out of control at any moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Follow Al Jazeera English:<\/p>\n

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