Trump says U.S.-Iran ceasefire over after fresh strikes on Iran

President Donald Trump said the ceasefire with Iran was over as the United States launched another round of strikes on Iranian military targets and tightened pressure on Tehran’s oil trade. Speaking at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Trump said the arrangement signed with Iran to end the conflict was finished, after the U.S. military said it had completed strikes on more than 80 targets.

The latest escalation began after projectiles hit three tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow shipping lane that carries a major share of the world’s crude. Washington responded by revoking a license that had allowed Iran to sell oil, pushing the already fragile ceasefire deeper into crisis after months of stop-start tensions that had been in place since April.

The U.S. military said the strikes targeted Iranian air-defense systems, command-and-control networks, coastal radar sites, anti-ship missile capabilities and more than 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps small boats in and near the strait. Iranian commanders vowed a response, warning that they would not allow U.S. interference in the management of the waterway, a threat that keeps the shipping corridor at the center of the confrontation.

Markets reacted immediately. Brent crude jumped 5.3 percent to $78.09 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate rose 5.4 percent to $74.23 after Trump’s comments, a reminder that attacks on tankers and military targets in the Gulf can translate into higher fuel costs within hours. The next signals will be whether shipping through Hormuz normalizes, whether Iran answers with more strikes, and whether Washington expands the sanctions squeeze on oil flows.