White House signals Trump is weighing new strikes on Iran as tanker attacks in Strait of Hormuz continue
The Facts
- The White House signalled that Trump is weighing new strikes on Iran as the US presses Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and abide by the terms of a truce agreed last month that then collapsed.
- White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Iran signed a memorandum of understanding with the US on a truce last month but then "broke it, shot at commercial ships, and killed American soldiers," adding that Trump "is not going to stand by and allow this terrorist behavior to occur."
- No US strikes on Iran were reported overnight, but Iran's Revolutionary Guard said Friday it had struck two more tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, and Kuwait said it intercepted drones; two shipping incidents were reported in the waterway off Oman and another tanker was struck on Saturday.
- Speaking to reporters at a Cabinet meeting at the Camp David presidential retreat, Trump said of Iran, "We will hit them very hard," saying Iran retained some military capacity but would not for long, while declining to specify a timeframe.
- Trump announced that his Peace Board/Council had reached an agreement for the complete disarmament of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza, with Israeli forces withdrawing as disarmament is completed and an International Stabilisation Force working alongside a new Palestinian police force.
- Hamas confirmed it had accepted the disarmament agreement, saying it obliges Israel to withdraw from Gaza, while Israeli air strikes on the territory continued, including on a residential building in the Al Maghazi refugee camp and tents in a displacement camp in Deir el Balah.
- Implementation of the Gaza agreement is unresolved: Hamas negotiator Ghazi Hamad said Israel must first halt attacks and pull back its forces, while an Israeli official said there would be no withdrawal from the so-called Yellow Line until Hamas is genuinely disarmed; the plan sets a 14-day deadline that can be extended by an international verification committee.
- UN Secretary-General António Guterres and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas welcomed the Gaza agreement, with Kallas calling it a "constructive step towards peace" if implemented in full and warning that verifying Hamas's compliance "will be a major challenge."
Context
How has Iran responded to the possibility of new US strikes?
A senior Iranian security official quoted by the state-affiliated Tasnim News Agency described reports of potential US and Israeli strikes on Iranian infrastructure as "a kind of madness," and said Tehran had prepared "extensive response plans," warning that any attack would be met with strikes on critical infrastructure in Israel and on US energy assets in the region News18.
Why does the Strait of Hormuz matter in this conflict?
Washington is pressing Tehran to reopen the strait, which sources describe as a strategic waterway, and US frustration is centred on attacks there News18,India Today,India Today. Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it struck two more tankers in the strait on Friday, another vessel was reported hit on Saturday, and two shipping incidents were reported off Oman; separately, Houthi rebels forced Saudi ships to reroute News18,Hindustan Times,India Today.
What does the Gaza disarmament plan actually require, and what could block it?
The plan drawn up by the Peace Board, headed by former Bulgarian minister Nickolay Mladenov, contains 15 points and sets a 14-day window from acceptance, extendable by an international verification committee EL PAÍS,EL PAÍS. Obstacles include mutual distrust over sequencing — Israel says it will not withdraw before disarmament, Hamas says it will not disarm before withdrawal — Israeli elections in October, and opposition within Israel's government, with National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir calling the deal "unacceptable" EL PAÍS,EL PAÍS,infobae,N-tv. Trump said Israel was "very happy" with the agreement and that Washington had an "understanding" with the Israeli government infobae,Terra.
Where Left and Right agree, and where they split
- Where Left and Right agree
- Signed terms that nobody is honoring or verifying — a collapsed Iran truce, a Gaza deal with strikes still landing — are treated by both reads as a real failure, not a technicality.
- Where Left and Right split
- Open-ended force with no timeframe while civilians absorb the cost, or a government that signed a truce, shot at ships, and killed American soldiers.
How left and right read it
At Camp David, Trump told reporters the US "will hit them very hard," declining to specify a timeframe, as the White House signalled he is weighing new strikes on Iran. On the other front, an agreement was announced while strikes hit a residential building in Al Maghazi and tents in a Deir el Balah displacement camp. Open-ended force is not a plan. Civilians should not absorb the cost of terms nobody has settled.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard struck two more tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, Kuwait intercepted drones, and another tanker was hit Saturday — this after Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding on a truce, then broke it, shot at commercial ships, and killed American soldiers. A signature that binds only one party is worthless. Hold Tehran to the terms it accepted, and in Gaza tie withdrawal to disarmament actually verified.
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