New attacks between the US and Iran threaten the ceasefire and make oil more expensive again
Clashes and disagreements over a possible agreement maintain uncertainty around the strategic Strait of Hormuz
Tension in the Strait of Hormuz increased this weekend after the United States claimed to have carried out attacks on military sites in Iran, which responded with an offensive against a US base.
The US Central Command (Centcom) reported having launched “strikes in legitimate defense” in response to “aggressive Iranian actions”, including the downing of a US drone over international waters.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), for its part, said it attacked an air base used by US forces to launch operations against Iran.
Centcom reported that two Iranian ballistic missiles aimed at US forces in Kuwait were intercepted and that “no US personnel were injured.”
Previously, Kuwait had reported that its forces had faced “hostile” missiles and drones.
US President Donald Trump urged his critics to “sit back and relax” in a post on Truth Social early Monday morning, stating that “everything will work out in the end.”
He added that Iran “really wants to make a deal, and it will be a good deal for the US.”
The escalation also had repercussions on energy markets.
International oil prices rose more than 2% amid fears that the deteriorating situation in Lebanon will complicate negotiations between the United States and Iran to consolidate the ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
New attacks in full negotiation
This is the latest exchange of fire between both parties after negotiations to reach an agreement to end their conflict - which has already lasted more than three months - did not advance over the weekend.
US media reported that Trump had requested changes to the terms of the agreement.
According to CBS News, the BBC's news partner in the United States, these changes are related to the Strait of Hormuz shipping channel and the withdrawal of highly enriched uranium from Iran.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
On Monday, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson stated that the United States was “constantly changing its positions and raising new or contradictory demands,” which he said would “naturally prolong the negotiations.”
Iran's chief negotiator had declared on Sunday that Tehran would not accept any agreement unless its rights were fully guaranteed.
Crossed accusations
The US military announced that, over Saturday and Sunday, it had carried out “self-defense strikes” against Iranian radar operation and drone command and control sites in the city of Goruk, near the southern coast of Iran, and on Qeshm, an island located in the Strait of Hormuz.
He also indicated that no US personnel were injured in the attacks.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman said those attacks constituted a violation of the ceasefire.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed to have attacked the base it said the United States had used to attack a communications tower on the Gulf island of Sirik, about 65 km off Iran's southern coast.
The Iranian military added that its response would be “completely different” if the US aggression were “repeated,” according to IRGC statements reported by the semi-official Iranian Fars agency.
Early on Monday, Kuwait's military said it was “confronting hostile missile and drone attacks,” while state news agency KUNA reported that air warning sirens had sounded across the country.
The Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs subsequently issued a statement condemning “in the strongest terms” the “atrocious and repeated Iranian attacks, which represent a dangerous escalation and direct aggression” against Kuwait.
The ministry noted that these attacks “undermine” efforts to reduce tensions in the region and stated that the country reserves the right to “adopt all necessary measures” to defend itself.
Last week, Tehran attacked an air base in Kuwait in response to US airstrikes that Washington said were carried out to prevent Iranian ships and missile units from laying mines in the vicinity of this shipping channel.
The agreement proposal, in the air
Although the ceasefire went into effect on April 8, Trump has repeatedly suggested that the United States and Iran are close to reaching a permanent agreement and that negotiations are moving forward.
However, to date no formal agreement has been finalized.
On Friday, Trump and his top advisers met to make a “final decision” on the framework for a possible extension of the ceasefire.
However, the meeting concluded without the steps to be followed being clear, until information subsequently emerged according to which the president had requested modifications to the text of the agreement.
According to CBS News, the most recent terms include a 60-day cessation of violence and a call for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the shipping route through which approximately one-fifth of the oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) transported in the world normally transits, and whose effective closure has caused a sharp rebound in international oil prices.
According to this information, the agreement under negotiation also includes a framework to reopen negotiations on Iran's nuclear program - to which Tehran attributes peaceful purposes - although the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Esmail Baghaei, denied on Monday that this issue had been on the table.
"No negotiations have been held on the details of the nuclear file. At this stage, our priority is to end the war," Baghaei declared at a press conference.
He added that an end to the conflict in Lebanon remained an “indispensable condition” for any agreement, and that Washington and Tehran had not yet reached “a definitive conclusion.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reiterated this position in a post on X on Monday: “The ceasefire between Iran and the US is, unequivocally, a ceasefire on all fronts, including Lebanon.”
“The United States and Israel are responsible for the consequences of any violation,” he added.
The Iranian news agency Tasnim said Monday that the Iranian government was pausing indirect negotiations with the United States and had, in fact, suspended the exchange of messages due to Israel's military operations in Lebanon. However, there has been no official confirmation from the Iranian government.
Lebanon was drawn into the war between the United States, Israel and Iran on March 2 when the Iranian-backed Shiite group Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel in retaliation for an Israeli strike that killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, after which Israel responded with an air campaign and a ground invasion in parts of Lebanon.

