Here, in the long and unsteady story of nations trying to talk while they strike one another, a fragile pause between Washington and Tehran has given way again to fire. Oil was revoked, ships were burned, boats were sunk, and the grief of a funeral wrapped itself around the violence. The question that hangs over the Gulf is not only who struck first this time, but whether the table where diplomats were meant to settle the hardest matters, the strait and the nuclear program, will still be standing once the mourning ends.
Trump Threatens Iran's Civilian Infrastructure as Ceasefire Collapses and Gulf Strikes Escalate
An IRGC member was killed in Bandar Mahshahr during the strikes, and a tanker was hit and caught fire in the Gulf of Oman area, with crew impact not detailed.
"They can talk, but I think they're wasting their time."
Mark
Trump says the deal is over but talks can go on. How does that work?
Mimi
It's a contradiction the story leaves standing. He called the ceasefire over, yet said negotiators can keep talking, though he thinks they're wasting time. Neither side has said it is walking away.
Luke
Worth noting that's his characterization. Nothing in the reporting shows a formal withdrawal from the interim agreement by either government.
Mark
Why did the oil license matter so much?
Mimi
It let Iran sell oil openly for dollars for the first time in years. Revoking it hits the economic heart of the interim deal, and it came after the tanker attacks.
Luke
And Iran didn't directly claim the tanker strike. State TV said it was attacked after ignoring warnings. That's not the same as admitting it.
Mark
What about the threats to power and desalination plants?
Mimi
Trump framed them as conditional: if the US has to. The Kharg comment was also hedged with maybe and may.
Luke
Right, those are statements of possibility, not announced operations. We also only have Central Command's account of what was hit, including the 60-plus boats.
Mark
And the funeral timing?
Mimi
It was supposed to be calmer, and talks were meant to begin after the burial on the strait and the nuclear program. Now that's in doubt.
Luke
What we don't know is the crew toll on the tanker, or whether more Guard members were killed beyond the one reported.
O Pulso
- Washington pulled the license that let Iran sell oil, and within hours American strikes hit air defenses, radars and more than 60 Revolutionary Guard boats.
- A tanker carrying Qatari gas was set ablaze off Oman, and Qatar holds Tehran fully responsible for the attack.
- Iranian missiles struck at US military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait while Khamenei's funeral was still underway.
- Trump has threatened power plants, desalination plants and Kharg Island, and Brent crude jumped more than 5% as talks hang by a thread.
Here, in the long and unsteady story of nations trying to talk while they strike one another, a fragile pause between Washington and Tehran has given way again to fire. Oil was revoked, ships were burned, boats were sunk, and the grief of a funeral wrapped itself around the violence. The question that hangs over the Gulf is not only who struck first this time, but whether the table where diplomats were meant to settle the hardest matters, the strait and the nuclear program, will still be standing once the mourning ends.
On Wednesday, the ceasefire between Washington and Tehran came apart in pieces. President Trump said the United States might strike Iran's electric and desalination plants, and might seize Kharg Island, the heart of Iran's oil infrastructure. The sequence had begun with a revoked license that had let Iran sell oil openly for dollars for the first time in years, pulled in response to Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
One of those attacks set a tanker on fire off Oman. Qatar, a key mediator, said the vessel carried Qatari natural gas and called the attack unacceptable. Early Wednesday, US forces hit Iranian air defenses, radars and over 60 Revolutionary Guard boats. Iranian state media reported explosions, including one in Bandar Mahshahr that killed a Guard member.
Iran answered with missile fire at US forces in Bahrain and Kuwait, as the funeral of Supreme Leader Khamenei unfolded. Trump, at a NATO summit in Turkey, said of the ceasefire, "For me, I think it's over." Iran's parliament speaker replied that "We don't fold." Talks on a final deal were meant to begin after Thursday's burial, but whether they will, and whether the threats against civilian infrastructure remain only words, is now uncertain.
On Wednesday, with the ceasefire between Washington and Tehran in pieces, President Donald Trump said the United States may go after Iran's electric plants and desalination plants if it has to. He also said it might take over Kharg Island, home to Iran's oil infrastructure. "There's not a thing they could do about it," he said of the island. He added that Tuesday's strikes had hit Kharg Island but spared its oil facilities, and that the US was preparing a second night of strikes.
The threats followed a rapid sequence of events. The US first revoked a license that had authorized the sale of Iranian oil, a provision of the interim deal. The license had paused American sanctions and let Iran sell oil openly for US dollars for the first time in years. Iran had long been suspected of selling sanctioned crude to China at below-market prices. Washington said it pulled the license in retaliation for Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
One of those attacks hit a tanker off the coast of Oman, which caught fire, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center. Iranian state television said the tanker had come under attack after ignoring warnings, but did not directly claim the strike. Majed al-Ansari, spokesperson for Qatar's Foreign Ministry, said the vessel was carrying Qatari natural gas. He called the attack unacceptable and said Qatar holds Iran fully legally responsible. Qatar, alongside Pakistan, has been a key mediator in the talks. The source does not say what happened to the crew.
Early Wednesday the US struck back. US Central Command said the aim was to impose heavy costs for attacks on commercial shipping crewed by innocent civilians. It said it hit air defense systems, radars and more than 60 small boats used by the Revolutionary Guard, and that this round of attacks had ended. Iranian state media reported explosions in several places, including Bandar Mahshahr, where a Guard member was killed, and reported attacks on Bushehr, site of Iran's nuclear power plant complex.
Iran answered with strikes on Bahrain, home to the US Navy's 5th Fleet, and Kuwait, home to US Army forces. Both countries sounded missile alerts, and the Guard acknowledged targeting US military installations in each. A similar exchange of shipping attacks, US strikes and Iranian fire on the two countries took place late last month. Anwar Gargash, a senior UAE diplomat, said the attacks showed Tehran remains incapable of committing to de-escalation. Trump was in Turkey for a NATO summit when the strikes came.
The timing is notable. The violence fell during the multiday funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed Feb. 28 in the war's first moments. The funeral ends Thursday and was expected to be a calmer stretch, though mourners have repeatedly called for the killing of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Talks on a final deal were due to start after the burial, covering the hardest issues: fully reopening the strait and rolling back Iran's disputed nuclear program.
Asked about the ceasefire, Trump said, "For me, I think it's over." He said US negotiators could keep talking but doubted the outcome: "They can talk, but I think they're wasting their time." Neither side immediately signaled it would leave the table. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf wrote on X that the era of bullying and extortion is over, and "We don't fold."
Markets reacted: Brent crude rose more than 5% after Trump's remarks. Before the war, a fifth of the world's traded oil and natural gas moved through the strait, and Iran's ability to nearly halt that traffic has been its greatest strategic advantage, with rising energy, fertilizer and food prices pressuring Washington to deal. The question now is whether talks start at all after Thursday's burial, and whether the threats against power and water plants stay words.
Citações Notáveis
For me, I think it's over.— President Donald Trump, on the ceasefire
The era of bullying and extortion is over. We don't fold.— Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Iran's Parliament Speaker, on X
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War & Conflict