The uneasy truce that exists between the United States and Iran faces renewed pressure following two days of unrest in the Persian Gulf region.
Both sides exchanged fire in the waters around the Strait of Hormuz while missiles and drones struck the United Arab Emirates.
When asked on Tuesday what would compel Iran to break its truce, US President Donald Trump responded with a cryptic message. “Well, you’ll find out, because I’ll let you know”.
In an interview, the President stated on Monday that Iran would be “blown off the face of the earth” should it target any American ships involved in the protection of commercial vessels in the strait.
This new bout of violence occurred after the United States launched “Operation Freedom,” an American mission to escort hundreds of ships through the perilous passage.
Approximately 22,500 sailors and crew members aboard over 1,550 ships have been held up in the Persian Gulf.
The US forces stated that they had destroyed six Iranian small boats which tried to attack civilian shipping vessels.
Furthermore, two US flagged cargo ships were able to transit through the strait safely on Monday, as revealed by Pentagon sources.
UAE hit on the second consecutive day
According to the information received from the UAE Defense Ministry, its air defense system intercepted 12 ballistic missiles, three cruise missiles and four drones launched from the Iranian side on Monday.
One of the UAVs hit the Fujairah Petroleum Industries Zone, causing a fire at the oil refinery there and injured three Indians.
The region of Fujairah is located in the Gulf of Oman and acts as the major alternative way for oil exports aside from the strategic strait owned by the UAE.
Yesterday, the UAE informed the public of the fact that it was hit with missiles and UAVs for the second day in a row, while the IRGC denied launching attacks on the Emirates.
UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called it an unacceptable transgression and said it reserves its right to react fully.
The American Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told journalists during a Pentagon briefing on Tuesday that April 8 truce agreement remains valid.
“No, the ceasefire is not over,” said Pete Hegseth standing next to Joint Chiefs Chairman, General Dan Caine.
According to him, Project Freedom should be considered a completely different undertaking unrelated to military actions against Iran.
General Caine delivered a straight forward assessment of ceasefire period.
Also Read: Russia warns civilians to flee as Moscow and Ukraine trade rival ceasefire proposals
In his view, Iran conducted fire attacks on commercial vessels nine times, seized two cargo ships and targeted American forces more than ten times since the truce agreement came into effect, but still it does not meet the threshold necessary for starting major combat actions again.
The situation has already affected international oil market. Brent crude prices rose above US $115 per barrel on Tuesday amid the threats to oil transportation channel where nearly one fifth of global supplies flow through.
The diplomatic track is still open, but tense. “Talks with America are making progress,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated on Monday.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed a White House press conference, stating that Iran would require “crushing economic sanctions” and “global diplomatic isolation” to accept a reopening of the strait.
Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf rejected the claims and criticized the US for failing to uphold the ceasefire agreement, adding another post on social media. “We haven’t even started yet,” he declared.
It will be interesting to see how long this ceasefire lasts.
As of now, there seems to be little intention by President Trump to return to a full scale conflict.
