US and Iran suspend hostilities 'for the moment' after Strait of Hormuz skirmishes
Washington and Tehran agree to halt attacks following a weekend of tit-for-tat strikes, but Iran warns ships against bypassing its designated route through the strategic oil chokepoint.
A ceasefire under strain
The Islamabad Protocol, signed on 17 June by US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian, was designed to halt hostilities and open a path to a permanent peace deal. The 60-day truce took effect immediately, but within ten days it was being tested. On 25 June, Iran's Revolutionary Guards began targeting commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The US responded with air raids on Iranian coastal positions. By Friday evening, 26 June, both sides acknowledged that hostilities had resumed.
Strait of Hormuz becomes a testing ground
The strait, which carries roughly 20% of global oil, had reopened the previous week under the terms of the protocol. Iran, however, demanded that vessels use a narrow corridor close to its coastline. On Sunday, Tehran warned that any ship attempting to bypass that route would face consequences. The US, for its part, said its strikes on Saturday were a direct response to Iranian attacks on merchant shipping. The tit-for-tat exchanges have turned the waterway into a contested arena where each side is probing the other's red lines.
- US President Trump and Iranian President Pezeshkian sign the Islamabad Protocol, a 60-day ceasefire.
- Iran's Revolutionary Guards target several commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
- Hostilities resume between the US and Iran.
- US conducts retaliatory raids on the Iranian coast.
- Iran warns ships against bypassing its designated corridor; a US official announces suspension of hostilities and continuation of technical talks.
A fragile pause
Late on Sunday, a US official told reporters that Washington and Tehran had agreed to suspend attacks "for the moment" and that technical talks would continue on all aspects of the protocol.
It is planned that technical discussions continue on all points of the protocol.
The announcement did not address Iran's corridor demand, and it left open the question of how long the pause would last. French daily Les Echos reported that negotiations had returned to a standstill, while Ouest France noted that an uncontrolled escalation could not be ruled out.
Oil markets watch nervously
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most important energy chokepoints. Its reopening last week had calmed markets, but the weekend's skirmishes have reintroduced a risk premium. Analysts caution that any sustained disruption could send crude prices sharply higher, though for now the waterway remains open and traffic is moving, albeit under heightened tension.
