Tehran:
Washington said the strikes were in response to Iranian attacks on vessels near the Strait, a critical global energy route. US Central Command said the operation was intended to impose “heavy costs” on those targeting commercial shipping lanes.
Trump, speaking to reporters at the NATO summit in Turkey, said the ceasefire process with Iran was effectively over and ruled out further engagement with Tehran. “To me, I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them anymore,” he said, accusing Iran of exploiting the pause to target ships.
“We say, ‘Go and do your funeral stuff,’ and instead of that, they start shooting rockets at ships yesterday. So we hit them very hard last night,” Trump said. He claimed US forces had targeted “very dangerous people” in Iran during the overnight strikes.
The escalation has triggered alarm in Europe. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said exchanges of fire between the US and Iran had further complicated efforts to end the wider conflict, while calling Iran’s alleged attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait “unacceptable”.
Kallas also accused Tehran of breaching its commitment to keep maritime corridors open. “Freedom of navigation must be unimpeded,” she said, warning that attacks near the Strait of Hormuz threatened the resumption of energy supplies.
She said EU foreign ministers would meet Gulf counterparts next Monday to discuss steps to support the agreement and preserve freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.
Iran, meanwhile, has accused Washington of repeatedly violating bilateral commitments. Parliament Speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf alleged that the US had breached the memorandum of understanding by threatening further strikes, reinstating oil sanctions, attacking southern Iran and supporting Israeli actions in Lebanon.
“The era of bullying and extortion is over. It leads nowhere,” Ghalibaf wrote on X. “We don’t fold.”
The latest confrontation follows attacks on three vessels navigating the Strait of Hormuz, which Washington has blamed on Iranian forces. Tehran has rejected US pressure and warned that continued military action and sanctions will only deepen the crisis.