The US and Iran exchanged blows again overnight. Tehran said it had closed the Strait of Hormuz

On the night of March 11, the US struck Iran again. In response, Iran attacked Middle Eastern countries.

The US Central Command issued a statement announcing the launch of strikes on Iran in response to Tehranʼs "prolonged aggression". Iranian surveillance, communications, and air defense systems were under attack.

Recall that on June 8, Iran shot down an American AH-64 Apache attack helicopter off the coast of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz. The US President Donald Trump then promised to respond, and on the night of June 10, the sides exchanged blows.

The following night, Iranian media also reported explosions in several cities, including near Tehran. The US military launched at least two waves of attacks on the country.

In response, Iran began firing missiles and drones at Middle Eastern countries — Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan — where American military bases are located.

Later, the Iranian military announced that the Strait of Hormuz had been closed to all ships again, and any attempts to move would be fired upon. But the US Central Command denied this, stating that merchant ships continued to move in both directions.

A few hours later, in a conversation with Fox News, Donald Trump said that Iranian officials had allegedly personally asked him to stop the bombing, so the attacks would soon stop. Tehran called these statements lies — they said they had no contact with Trump.

At the time of the conversation with Fox News, Trump said that the US had launched 49 Tomahawk missiles at Iran and bombed the country with fighter jets.

At around 4 AM, the US announced that it had ended its attacks on Iran. At the same time, Trump warned that the United States was prepared to resume military action if Tehran did not sign a peace deal soon.

Amid the escalation, oil prices rose by more than $1 per barrel. Brent crude futures reached $94.58 per barrel and WTI futures reached $91.74.

War in the Middle East and negotiations between Iran and the US

On the morning of February 28, the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran. These attacks killed Iranʼs Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and almost the entire military leadership of the country — about 40 key high-ranking officials.

Iran, in response to the US and Israeli attacks, began shelling Arab countries where US bases are located, and Israel. The war also halted tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow sea corridor between Iran and Oman that connects the Persian Gulf with the Indian Ocean. It was through it that almost a fifth of the worldʼs oil exports passed — tens of millions of barrels per day.

On April 8, the parties agreed to a two-week ceasefire. On April 13, the United States began a naval blockade of Iranian ports, demanding the complete unblocking of the Strait of Hormuz for all ships.

On April 17, Lebanon and Israel agreed to a ceasefire, after which Iran unblocked the Strait of Hormuz. However, on April 18, Iran reported that it was again blocking the Strait of Hormuz due to the US naval blockade. On the same day, Iran fired on several ships attempting to pass through the strait.

The United States and Iran have been exchanging blows periodically in recent weeks, but neither side has claimed to have violated the ceasefire, which remains in effect. In particular, on June 3, Iranian drones struck an airport in Kuwait, killing one person and suspending commercial flights. Iran said it struck a US base in Kuwait.

On the night of June 8, Iran attacked Israel with ballistic missiles for the first time since April — in response to Israelʼs attack on Beirut, Lebanon, which Tehran explained as a response to a strike by the Lebanese pro-Iranian Hezbollah.

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