How The Most Recent Iran Deal Fell Apart

After President Donald Trump’s administration spent weeks touting the Iran deal as a positive development, the agreement has rapidly collapsed.

The conflict has clearly shifted back toward direct military escalation, with the Strait of Hormuz as the focal point of the latest round of retaliatory strikes, sanctions pressure, and diplomatic collapse.

As previously reported, President Trump declared negotiations with Iran effectively over on Wednesday as he defended overnight U.S. strikes after Tehran violated the ceasefire Tuesday by attacking three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. Central Command said that American forces launched a new round of strikes on Iran after three tankers were attacked in the waterway. According to Reuters, the U.S. said it hit more than 80 Iranian targets, including air defense systems, command and control centers, radar installations, missile facilities, and more than 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps boats operating in and around the strait.

Iran then attacked U.S. military installations in Bahrain and Kuwait, which U.S. officials described as another violation of the MOU. In Bahrain, the reported targets included facilities associated with the U.S. Fifth Fleet, while Kuwait reported two ballistic missiles and 13 drones in its airspace. The IRGC claimed it struck 85 U.S. military facilities in the Gulf in response to U.S. strikes, according to AFP, which cited a statement carried by Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB.

The latest exchange cemented the complete collapse of the memorandum of understanding, which had been intended to reduce hostilities while talks continued over Iran’s nuclear program and navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.

Talks had already been on hold during the funeral ceremonies for the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which concluded Thursday with his burial in Mashhad. During the six-day mourning period, crowds at the funeral chanted “Death to America,” called for revenge against the United States and Israel, and directed violent chants at President Trump. The funeral ceremonies coincided with a pause in negotiations as public calls for retaliation continued.

At the NATO summit in Ankara, Trump sharpened his language toward Tehran. Trump said the U.S. would “probably” strike Iran again Wednesday night after Tehran attacked — and he quickly made good on that threat. U.S. forces launched a second round of strikes Wednesday night, continuing into Thursday.

In the same exchange, Trump called Iranian leaders “scum” and “sick people” and argued that, if Iran obtained a nuclear weapon, it would use it.

Trump also raised the possibility of restoring a blockade, saying that the U.S. may move to reinstate one that would apply only to Iran. The president warned that Iran could respond to that by laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

The movements of the last several days underscore just how volatile the situation is — and how quickly diplomatic relations can unravel when the Iranian regime is involved.