The Trump administration defended its latest military strikes on Iran as a response to what it termed “unwarranted aggression by Iranian forces” following attacks on three commercial oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. The strikes, announced Tuesday, targeted more than 80 Iranian military assets, including air defense systems, command-and-control nodes, coastal radar installations, anti-ship missile sites, and over 60 small boats operated by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in and around the strategic waterway, according to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).
“The unwarranted aggression by Iranian forces is a clear and dangerous violation of the ceasefire and undermines freedom of navigation,” CENTCOM said in a statement, adding that the U.S. is “prepared to hold Iran accountable when the agreement is not adhered to or obeyed.”
Sanctions Waiver Revoked Hours Before Strikes
The airstrikes came just hours after the Trump administration revoked a sanctions waiver that had permitted the sale of Iranian oil and petrochemicals. That waiver was a key component of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by Washington and Tehran to halt hostilities and finalize a peace agreement. The move effectively dismantled one of the last economic incentives for Iran to remain at the negotiating table.
Speaking to reporters at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, President Trump declared the MOU “over.” He added that U.S. negotiators would “have to come back to me. As far as I’m concerned, it’s just a waste of time dealing with them [Iran].” The president escalated his rhetoric, calling Iranian leaders “scum” and “sick people,” and said, “I don’t want to deal with them anymore.”
The summit itself has been a flashpoint for tensions, with Trump also reviving a push to purchase Greenland, straining alliance dynamics. The president’s comments on Iran came amid broader discussions on five key flashpoints as Trump meets nervous NATO allies in Turkey, including defense spending and regional security.
Iran Retaliates with Drone Strikes, Downed US Drone
Iran’s military retaliated early Wednesday with drone strikes on several U.S. bases in Bahrain and Kuwait, and shot down an American MQ-9 drone over Bushehr Province along Iran’s western coast, near the Persian Gulf. State-aligned Fars News Agency reported that these counterattacks were described as an “initial response.”
Iran’s Speaker of Parliament, Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf, accused the U.S. of violating the ceasefire agreement. “The era of bullying and extortion is over. It leads nowhere. We don’t fold,” he wrote on the social platform X.
The strikes and counterstrikes come at a moment of deep national mourning in Iran. In the days leading up to the attacks, millions of Iranians flooded city streets for the funeral procession of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the first U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28. The procession is set to conclude Thursday with Khamenei’s burial at the Imam Reza shrine in his birthplace of Mashhad.
Political Fallout and Future of the Deal
The unraveling of the interim deal raises questions about the path forward. Trump’s declaration that the MOU is “dead” echoes his earlier decision to declare the Iran interim deal dead after US-Tehran clashes, signaling a return to maximum pressure. Meanwhile, the administration is also grappling with domestic political battles, including a GOP internal rift over Trump’s birthright citizenship bill and the Supreme Court’s ruling that hands Trump sweeping power over independent agencies, which could reshape how future negotiations are conducted.
Analysts warn that the cycle of strikes and retaliation risks escalating into a broader conflict, especially with Iran’s leadership under pressure from a mourning public and the IRGC seeking to demonstrate strength. For now, both sides appear dug in, with no clear off-ramp in sight.
