The most consequential story of the day broke in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz, where the United States and Iran exchanged military strikes for the first time since agreeing to an interim peace deal on June 17. Both sides blamed the other for violating the memorandum of understanding (MOU) that was supposed to pave the way for the gradual resumption of commercial shipping traffic through the critical waterway.
The flashpoint was a strike on Thursday against the Singapore-flagged container ship Ever Lovely, which was traversing the strait outside a route approved by Tehran. The incident quickly spiralled, with Iran reportedly attacking US interests in Bahrain in what it described as a retaliatory response to the latest American bombardment.
The MOU had been signed after months of disruption to one of the world’s most vital shipping lanes following a US-Israeli attack on Iran in late February. Its collapse — barely ten days in — raises alarming questions about whether any diplomatic framework can hold amid such deep mutual distrust. The Strait of Hormuz handles roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply, meaning any sustained conflict there sends shockwaves through global energy markets and supply chains.
