The war between the United States and Iran has flared up again, with Washington reimposing a naval blockade of Iranian ports and launching a new round of air strikes, unraveling a ceasefire that had held for barely a month.

US Central Command said it had reinstated the blockade of Iran's coastline, covering the country's ports and oil terminals, and warned that vessels entering or leaving the area without authorization could be intercepted or seized. The move followed a fresh wave of American strikes that CENTCOM said hit Iranian missile sites, drone facilities and coastal defenses at several locations along the coast.

Claims and counter-claims

Iranian authorities said the overnight attacks had caused casualties, with officials reporting scores of people injured and claiming that civilians were among the dead. Those figures could not be independently verified, and the United States described its strikes as targeting military infrastructure used to threaten shipping.

The latest escalation grew out of attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's Revolutionary Guard was blamed for missile strikes on tankers in the strait, according to Al Jazeera, including ships linked to Gulf states, one of which killed a crew member. Iran, in turn, launched missile and drone strikes on US military bases in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan in recent days, attacks that host governments said they had largely intercepted.

A fee, then a reversal

President Trump had said the United States would impose a 20% fee on all cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz, framing it as reimbursement for the cost of securing the waterway, as Al Jazeera reported. He appeared to step back from the idea a day later, suggesting instead that Gulf states would strike trade and investment deals with Washington in exchange for protection. The UN's International Maritime Organization has said there is no legal basis for charging vessels to pass through an international strait.

Oil prices climb

The renewed conflict rattled energy markets. Oil rose to its highest level in about a month, with Brent crude settling near $85 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate around $79, as traders weighed the risk to shipping through a strait that carries a large share of the world's seaborne oil.

Truce in tatters

The fighting has effectively killed a memorandum the two sides signed last month to end the conflict and reopen the strait. Tehran has declared that agreement no longer valid, blaming the US military operations, while Washington has pointed to Iranian attacks on shipping as the trigger. Each side accuses the other of shattering the peace, and with the blockade back in force and strikes continuing, there is little sign of an off-ramp. The danger now is not only to the two combatants but to the global economy, which depends on the safe passage of oil through the very waterway at the center of the dispute.