Why are the US and Iran fighting again? The feud that keeps threatening peace talks

WASHINGTON —

The U.S. military launched another round of strikes against Iran on Wednesday, the latest response after the Trump administration accused Tehran of attacking three tankers in the Strait of Hormuz the day before.

The exchange of fire comes as both sides fight for long-term leverage over one of the world’s most important oil shipping routes. The Strait was open before the war, but has since endured a series of traffic disruptions. Fuel prices had been trending down, but are now climbing once again in response to renewed violence this week.

U.S. Central Command said Wednesday that the additional strikes were designed to further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait.

Trump added on social media that, if Iran attacks ships in the Strait again, the response “will get much worse!”

It remains to be seen where the conflict will go from here. Earlier Wednesday, Trump said the ceasefire is “over” and renewed his threats to target Iran’s civilian infrastructure. Hours later, he said the war isn’t necessarily restarting.

“I don’t think it’s going to start again. I think it’s going to go very quickly. They hit a couple of ships, and so we hit them much harder. When they hit, we hit 10 times harder,” Trump said. “We’re not looking for long-term.”

A similar dispute last month led to another exchange of fire between the US and Iran, jeopardizing the interim agreement that sought to end the fighting.

As part of the deal signed in June, both sides agreed to allow ships to pass through the Strait toll-free for 60 days while negotiations on long-term management continued.

But Iran has warned that ships that don’t use its approved routes will face “a forceful response.” The tankers attacked on Tuesday appeared to be traveling through an alternative route near Oman.

“There is no alternative: Recognize the new Iranian order in the Strait of Hormuz,” wrote Ebrahim Azizi, a member of the Iranian parliament, on social media.

Iran is also vowing to charge transit fees in the future, which would be a major change for the historically open waterway. The U.S. has rejected those demands.