Renewed attacks between the USA and Iran complicate diplomacy

Iran war

Renewed attacks between the USA and Iran complicate diplomacy

After new attacks between the USA and Iran, diplomatic initiatives are once again taking a back seat. An explosive report makes public a secret project between Russia and Iran.

Renewed mutual military attacks between the USA and that Iran have pushed diplomatic efforts from last week further into the background. The US military said it attacked military facilities belonging to the Iranian armed forces during the night. Iran responded with missile and drone attacks on US targets Iraq, JordanKuwait and Bahrain. The conflict plays out primarily in the Strait of Hormuz and the Iranian southern provinces.

According to Iranian media, at least 19 people were killed in the air strikes. Three members of a paramilitary unit died on the island of Lawan, and seven soldiers of the Revolutionary Guard Air Force died in Kermanshah province. A wedding reception building near Sirik near the Iranian coast was hit. Five people were killed, including a small child. In the industrial province of Khuzestan, officials reported seven deaths.

The head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society, Pirhussein Koliwand, condemned the attack on the wedding reception. In a letter to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, he called for an investigation, the aid organization said.

According to Iranian sources, two oil tankers hit sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz during the night. Explosions and fires forced the crews to abandon their ships, the Revolutionary Guards said, according to Iranian media reports. “Punitive measures” are planned for shipping companies that use “illegal routes,” the statement continued. The incidents could not initially be independently verified.

During the course of the war, the Strait of Hormuz became the central point of contention between Washington and Tehran: Iran is still largely blocking traffic through the strait, which is important worldwide for the transport of oil, natural gas and fertilizer, with threats and attacks on ships. Before the war, the strait was open to shipping. Iran is demanding concessions from the US government, while President Trump wants to put pressure on the leadership in Tehran with an “economic war”.

US President Donald Trump described its own military’s “large and massive” attacks as retaliation for the Iranians’ failed attempt to lay sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz. The US military itself cited Iranian attacks on merchant ships in the strait, which is important for global oil and gas trade, as another reason.

Experts doubt that Trump can resolve the conflict with the leadership in Tehran militarily. The US military could significantly weaken Iran’s capabilities, but not completely eliminate them. Iran expert Danny Citrinowicz wrote on X that Tehran is unlikely to give up its efforts to disrupt shipping through the strait. “The US can weaken Iran’s capabilities,” he added. Without a diplomatic endgame, however, one cannot “bomb” a stable situation.