Relations between Iran and the United States continued to unravel over the weekend, resulting in a fresh exchange of airstrikes, as the two governments publicly disagree about whether the Strait of Hormuz is open or closed.
The debate comes after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) struck a Cyprus-flagged container ship moving through the vital passageway on July 11, setting it ablaze and leaving 23 crew members stranded and one missing.
The IRGC said in a statement carried by the state broadcaster IRIB that same day that its forces had struck the vessel because it had switched off its tracking systems and endangered maritime security. It claimed that it had fired a warning shot at the vessel, but that it did not change course.
The IRGC then announced that the Strait of Hormuz was once again closed to maritime traffic.
The U.S. military responded by launching a significant missile assault on Iranian military targets overnight into Sunday. CENTCOM said in a statement that it had struck about 140 sites, targeting “missile and drone sites, naval capabilities, ammunition storage facilities, communication networks, and coastal surveillance locations.” According to Iranian state media, U.S. strikes also hit Qeshm, an island near the strait, though they targeted only military installations and caused no casualties.
Iran then launched a flurry of retaliatory attacks on U.S.-allied Persian Gulf states on Sunday, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, and Oman.
Reopening the strait was a key tenet of the memorandum of understanding signed by both Iran and the U.S. in June. The passage is vital to the global supply of oil and natural gas, and economies around the globe experienced energy crises and oil shortages when it was first closed in response to U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Feb. 28.
But Iran has continued to launch missiles at vessels as they are progressing through it via a route off the coast of Oman, a navigat
