The cross attacks between the United States and Iran leave the ceasefire on the edge

WashingtonThe United States has once again attacked Iran, which has responded by hitting US bases in several countries in the region. The second night of bombings pushes the ceasefire, which came into effect on April 8, to the limit. The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) has stated that it has "completed" the latest round of airstrikes shortly before sunrise in Iran, which have hit "surveillance military capabilities, communication systems, and defense sites." Explosions have been heard in Tehran, in the port city of Bandar Abbas, and in other areas of the south of the country along the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran has responded by announcing a new closure of the strait and has launched attacks against Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran has said it launched ballistic missiles against a US command center in Jordan, according to state media.

In announcing the attacks, Washington stated that its goal is to pressure Tehran to accept a peace agreement. "If we have to negotiate with bombs, we will negotiate with bombs: nobody in the world does it better," said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth early this morning. Only a few hours had passed since President Donald Trump had called for increased pressure on Tehran to make it "pay the price" for the stalemate in talks.

"We will hit them hard, on our own terms," Hegseth threatened. This Wednesday, the spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Esmaeil Baghaei, accused the US of deliberately bombing civilian water treatment facilities in the city of Sirik, in the south of the country. He specified that these facilities supplied drinking water to ten cities in the area, which is why he described the attacks as "calculated war crimes" and a violation of international law.

Hormuz, closed

After the US bombing, the Iranian news agency Mehr reported that the Iranian army had ordered the complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz to all ships, tankers, and commercial vessels. The same information indicated that they would attack any ship attempting to cross the strait. Shortly after, the Tasnim agency published that the Iranian army had attacked two ships that had violated this order.

A little later, in a call with Fox News, Trump stated that the United States had stopped bombing because they had spoken directly with the Iranian government and asked them to stop.

On Tuesday, the United States had already launched night attacks against Iran. They justified it as a response to the attack on a US helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz that took place on Monday. But later, both the president and the Secretary of Defense have declared that the intention of the attacks is not to respond to specific actions, but to force Iran to accept the terms of an agreement they have been trying to close for weeks.

“Your army is defeated, your economy is lost. It's over for Iran!”, Trump posted on his social network, Truth Social, this Wednesday afternoon. It is already common for the US president to declare the war over when bombings are still ongoing, there is no peace agreement closed, and it does not seem likely that one will be reached anytime soon. Both countries, in theory, maintain a ceasefire in force for two months, but over this period the ceasefire has never managed to stop the fighting; it has only slowed it down.

Iran's representative to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, responded that the US should stop threatening Iran. “Iran has never negotiated under threats and pressure, and will never succumb to pressure or coercion.”

At the same time, the State Department announced on Wednesday the decision to impose sanctions on 13 entities and individuals from Iran, Belarus, and China who have attempted to facilitate weapons to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. The US Treasury also stated that it would impose sanctions on nine individuals and entities attempting to facilitate weapons to Iran.