The US and Iran traded strikes for a second day on Thursday, marking the most serious rupture yet in the countries’ crumbling ceasefire.
Tehran said it attacked US military sites in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Jordan, and Washington’s Gulf allies braced for further strikes, as President Donald Trump weighs reimposing the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran is focused on trying to control shipping through the strait, its key point of leverage and an issue which now arguably outweighs Iran’s nuclear program in importance for both sides. The US cannot easily walk away until the situation is stabilized, but any likely deal is unpalatable, Semafor’s Gulf team wrote.