Strait of Hormuz open or close, Iran-US deal to collapse anytime? Tehran strikes against vital American bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, U. S attack multiple Iranian military targets

Strait of Hormuz remains the bone of contention between U. S and Iran. Iran's top diplomat warned on Sunday that any attempt by shipping to bypass its preferred route through the Strait of Hormuz would "increase tensions" in the Middle East, as US and Iranian forces again traded attacks across the vital seaway. Early on Sunday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it had attacked 10 Iranian military targets over "continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping". Iran then said it had carried out retaliatory strikes against US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain in response. Both Kuwait and Bahrain denounced the attacks.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Sunday they were taking measures to control traffic in the strait and that vessels in violation of those measures would be dealt with more firmly than before.



Strait of Hormuz New Route


Tehran has continued to insist on controlling passage through the vital strait, through which a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas travel in normal times, something it did not have before the war. At the moment, Iran insists ships transiting the strait pass through a corridor close to its own shores, though this week dozens of vessels have travelled along the opposite side of the waterway, hugging the Omani coast.

"Any attempt to adopt new or separate arrangements compared to what is underway by the Islamic Republic of Iran, will only lead to more complicated situations and delays in the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and will increase the tensions," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.

"I urge all parties... to adhere to the memorandum of understanding and not to allow this MoU to deviate from its course," Araghchi said.


Who is Governing Strait of Hormuz?


Iran insists that it alone must govern the strait, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf that once carried a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reiterated the claim during a state visit to Iraq on Sunday.

Efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz without Iran's direct oversight sparked the crossfire now gripping the region and have imperiled negotiations for a lasting ceasefire. A multinational maritime body overseen by the U.S. Navy said Saturday that it would expand a route near Oman for both inbound and outbound traffic, setting up a new flashpoint with Tehran.

The global community has long considered the strait an international passageway, despite its sitting in Iran and Oman's territorial waters. In recent days, Iran has twice attacked vessels going through a route on the Omani side of the strait backed by a United Nations agency.


Iran-U.S. Deal to Collapse?


The United States and Iran are still debating the terms of an interim peace deal, including shipping arrangements through the strait, removing a U.S. blockade and sanctions and addressing the future of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Under the memorandum of understanding signed earlier this month, the U.S. and Iran have 60 days to iron out the details.

The strikes threaten to torpedo the deal before it can be finalized. Continued fighting in Lebanon, where an Israeli soldier was killed by Hezbollah fire early Sunday, has also threatened the agreement.


Iran Strikes target Gulf states hosting US military


The Kuwaiti military said air defenses intercepted incoming Iranian drones and missiles Sunday morning, just after the U.S. strikes. Kuwait, which hosts a major U.S. Army base, said it had detected and intercepted two ballistic missiles and there were no reports of injuries or damage.

Bahrain's Interior Ministry said the Iranian strikes damaged a residential building near the international airport and no one was killed. The ministry released photos of an 8-story building, with the top floor destroyed, filled with rubble and its windows blown out.

Bahrain is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, whose base there came under repeated attack during the war. The damaged building on Sunday was not near the fleet's headquarters, in downtown Manama.

Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry denounced what it called “a dangerous escalation that reveals that what Tehran is doing is not a passing act, nor an isolated incident, but rather a deliberate approach and a systematic pattern of repeated aggression."

Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed responsibility for both attacks.