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Control of the Strait of Hormuz has fueled tensions between Iran and the United States, threatening to push their fragile memorandum of understanding (MoU) into the future.
The two teams blamed each other as they justified the weekly exchange – the first since the agreement was signed on June 17.
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The two sides also accused the other of violating the terms of the MoU, including Article 5, which calls for the smooth passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.
The war has started over control of the narrow road, which Tehran has used as geostrategic leverage at the negotiating table. Iran’s blockade of the crisis, where one-fifth of the world’s oil went through before the US-Israeli war against Iran began on February 28, created a global energy crisis.
A partial agreement between Iran and the US calls for the opening of the strait, but Tehran has rejected Washington’s attempt to create alternatives near the Omani channel.
The latest escalation began on Friday when a ship trying to cross the Strait of Hormuz was hit by a projectile. The US hit Iran in response, even though Iran had never claimed responsibility for the attack.
So what is behind the latest attack, and are the two sides interpreting the terms of the MoU differently?
What does Article 5 of the MoU say?
The fifth principle agreed to the reopening of the strait and the immediate resumption of commercial trade.
Hundreds of ships have been stranded after Tehran announced the closure of the waterway shortly after the US-Israeli attack on Iran.
“Iran plans to use its efforts to facilitate free passage of commercial vessels for 60 days from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman and vice versa,” Article 5 says.
It also calls for the removal of “technical and military obstacles” and the withdrawal of Iran within 30 days.
It goes on to say that “Iran will hold talks with the Sultanate of Oman to clarify its administration and maritime activities in the Strait of Hormuz in consultation with other Persian Gulf littoral countries in accordance with international law and the sovereignty of the countries on the Strait of Hormuz.
The issue of controlling the river has been a major source of contention in the peace talks. Iran has also talked about tolling shipping, but the US and Gulf states, whose cargoes pass through the waterway, have rejected the idea.
“The Strait of Hormuz remains under the supervision and full supervision of Iran through the next 30 days, and after all the obstacles are removed, the full power of the waterway will be restored. This is what we are working on,” the Foreign Minister of Iran, Abbas Araghchi, said during a visit to Baghdad, the capital of Iraq.
“The responsibility rests with the Islamic Republic of Iran. There is no other party or country in this matter. This is clearly under the mutual understanding agreement, and any intervention or inconsistent action may escalate the situation and delay the reopening of the strait.”
Are the two sides interpreting the MoU differently?
Hassan Ahmadian, an assistant professor at the University of Tehran, says Washington is going back on the agreement signed on June 15.
“The United States wants a different arrangement than the MoU it signed,” he said.
“What we are seeing is that the United States is trying to find a way to withdraw the memorandum and force Iran to comply with the terms.”
The US has done the same in Lebanon by negotiating a new agreement between Israel and the Lebanese government, he told Al Jazeera.
Tehran-based political analyst Abbas Aslani said Iran sees the Strait of Hormuz as a deterrent to future US attacks.
“Iran sees (the crisis) as a way to prevent the repetition of any aggression against the country,” he told Al Jazeera, adding that any attempt to change the situation there “forcefully” is “unacceptable to Tehran”.
Wolfgang Pusztai, a security analyst in Vienna, said Iran is insisting on controlling the Strait of Hormuz while the US and Arab countries are insisting on freedom of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
“To emphasize its point, Iran has now attacked ships twice, and it is not surprising that the US retaliated,” Pusztai said.
“But the scale of Iran’s retaliation and the scale of American aggression do not indicate that both sides are stepping up. So there seems to be a chance for this question to be resolved peacefully.”
U.S. attempts to push ships allied with Oman and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) have not gone down well with Tehran. Last week, Tehran warned versus developing new strategies.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday that the “legal route” was the northern route through Iranian waters. It forced four tankers transiting the southern route in Oman territory to turn back later that day, according to Windward AI, a maritime traffic tracker.
Three other tankers changed course but eventually completed their journey, Lloyd’s List said, including one that went from the southbound lane to the northbound lane.
On Friday, the Singaporean-flagged Ever Lovely was hit by a drone, and the Panamanian-flagged Kiku was hit on Saturday.
These threats and threats have seen traffic drop from 70 on Wednesday to 54 on Thursday. On Saturday, the number dropped to 40, Windward AI said.
What have the US and Iran said about the recent attacks?
Iran’s Foreign Ministry has condemned the US attacks on Friday and Saturday, calling them a “clear violation” of the UN Charter and a “clear violation of Article 1 of the memorandum of understanding”.
“These barbaric threats … show that the US does not place value and integrity on its promises,” the Foreign Ministry said.
The IRGC said it launched missiles and drones at US forces at the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait and the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain in response to US strikes on five Iranian coastal areas.
The IRGC has accused the US of violating its obligations under the MoU in the latest attack, adding that the agreement gives Tehran control over ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
In his Truth Social platform, the US President, Donald Trump, announced on Sunday that the US military will hit “Iranian weapons storage facilities and drones, and coastal radar observation sites, for violating the Cease Fire Agreement, GOOD!”
“There may come a time when we can no longer be complacent, and we will be forced to finish the work we started successfully,” he wrote.
“When it happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist.”
The U.S. military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said it carried out more strikes after Iran attacked the Kiku submarine on Saturday, a day after the Ever Lovely was hit and triggered the first U.S. strikes.
“CENTCOM forces launched a strike today in direct response to Iran’s aggression against commercial shipping,” it said in a statement on X Saturday.
US Vice President JD Vance on Saturday said: “Iran has signed a ceasefire agreement. We have respected it. … But violence will be met with violence.”
Bahrain and Kuwait have condemned Iran’s attacks for the second day in a row.
