Two weeks after celebrating a peace deal with Iran as a diplomatic breakthrough, US President Donald Trump abruptly decided to walk away from it. Hours before leaving for the NATO summit in Turkey, he was expected to focus on diplomacy. Instead, an urgent meeting in the Oval Office changed the course of the Iran conflict.
According to The Wall Street Journal, fresh intelligence on Iranian attacks against commercial ships in Strait of Hormuz convinced Trump that Tehran was no longer committed to the fragile ceasefire. By the time he landed in Ankara, the White House had already begun dismantling major parts of the agreement.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth walked into the Oval Office on Monday evening shortly before Trump departed for Turkey, reported The WSJ.
They informed the US President that Iran had launched anti-ship cruise missiles and one-way attack drones at commercial vessels attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz using the southern shipping route. Three ships were reportedly hit within hours, including a liquefied natural gas tanker.
The briefing left Trump furious.
He repeatedly questioned whether Iran was genuinely interested in negotiating a permanent agreement. After consulting his senior national security team, he concluded that Tehran was no longer acting in good faith.
That decision marked a turning point in Washington's approach.
Within hours, the Trump administration began rolling back several of the concessions it had offered under the interim peace framework signed at France's Palace of Versailles.
The White House revoked Iran's licence to sell oil, authorised multiple rounds of military strikes on Iranian targets around the Strait of Hormuz and warned that even civilian infrastructure could become targets if the conflict continued.
Among the sites Trump mentioned were desalination plants and electricity facilities, although he said he hoped such strikes would not become necessary.
Speaking at the NATO summit in Ankara, Trump made it clear he no longer believed the agreement could survive.
"To me, I think it's over," he said. "I don't want to deal with them. They're liars, they're cheats, they're sick people."
Iran strongly rejected the US version of events.
An Iranian diplomat told The WSJ that Washington had violated the agreement by creating a shipping lane through the Strait of Hormuz without coordinating the move with Tehran. According to him, that decision broke the understanding reached under the memorandum of understanding and justified Iran's response against ships using the route.
The disagreement has exposed one of the biggest weaknesses in the interim accord.
While the agreement promised freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, it never clearly defined who would manage, coordinate or police commercial shipping through one of the world's busiest waterways.
That uncertainty has now become the biggest source of tension between the two countries.
At the heart of the dispute is control over one of the world's busiest maritime trade routes.
The Strait of Hormuz handles roughly one-fifth of global oil shipments, making any disruption an immediate concern for international markets.
According to US officials, the Navy had quietly been helping commercial ships use the southern route along Oman's coastline for several weeks. More than 125 vessels reportedly completed the journey under US guidance.
The operation largely took place at night. Ships switched off their automatic identification systems while remaining in direct radio contact with US naval vessels and shipping operators.
Washington said the effort was intended to protect commercial traffic from attacks.
Tehran opposed the arrangement.
Iran insisted ships should instead use the northern route closer to its coastline and warned that the southern corridor was unsafe. It also accused Iranian forces of launching drones against commercial vessels attempting to use the southern passage.
Following the attacks on shipping, the US military launched multiple rounds of strikes targeting Iranian military infrastructure near the Strait of Hormuz. US Central Command said the operations were aimed at reducing Iran's ability to threaten international shipping. US forces have struck more than 170 Iranian military targets over the past two days.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also warned that the campaign could expand further.
The military would strike "even more, and even deeper" if necessary, he said.
Vice President JD Vance echoed that warning during an event in Milwaukee.
"The deal is very simple," Vance said. "If they shoot at ships, we're going to knock the hell out of them."
Trump later revealed that Iran's actions had particularly angered him because he believed he had already offered Tehran additional time.
He said he had paused negotiations for a week to allow Iran to hold funeral ceremonies for former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
"Instead of that, they start shooting rockets at ships," Trump said.
In response, Iran has launched attacks against US military sites in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan.
For now, the peace deal that once promised to calm one of the world's most dangerous flashpoints is hanging by a thread.
Source: India Today