President Donald Trump declared the Iran ceasefire "over" this week after Iranian forces attacked three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, triggering a swift American military response that has left shipping in the strategic waterway at a near-standstill and approximately 6,000 seafarers stranded.

U.S. Central Command confirmed that American forces launched "a series of powerful strikes" against dozens of Iranian military targets in retaliation for the tanker attacks. The administration simultaneously revoked a sanctions waiver that had permitted Iran to sell oil, escalating economic pressure alongside the military response.

The Ceasefire Collapses

The strikes shattered a 60-day ceasefire that had been signed last month between Washington and Tehran. U.S. officials characterized the agreement as "performance-based," stating that Iran's attacks on commercial shipping constituted a "clear violation" that rendered the deal void.

Iran fired on the three vessels in Omani territorial waters near the strait on Tuesday, according to U.S. officials. The International Maritime Organization condemned what Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez called "reckless attacks" that endangered a vital conduit for a significant proportion of the world's energy needs.

Gulf Nations on Alert

Kuwait formally accused Iran of launching fresh attacks following the American strikes, while both Kuwait and Bahrain raised their security postures to high alert. Qatar, which had hosted indirect talks between Washington and Tehran in Doha, held Iran "fully responsible" for the attacks that endangered civilian shipping.

The renewed hostilities brought commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to a near-standstill by Thursday, according to United Nations reports. Hundreds of vessels remained anchored outside the narrow waterway, their crews unable to transit safely while military operations continued.

Timing and Context

The escalation comes during a week of intense emotion in Iran, where millions have gathered for the state funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei was killed in joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on February 28, and his funeral processions through Tehran, Qom, and the Iraqi cities of Najaf and Karbala concluded with burial at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad.

His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, was named as the new Supreme Leader in March, inheriting leadership of a nation now engaged in renewed military confrontation with the United States. The timing of Iran's Hormuz attacks—during his father's funeral—has raised questions about whether hardline elements within the regime are testing the new leader or acting on his orders.

Oil markets reacted sharply to the shipping disruption, with prices spiking on fears of prolonged closure of the strait through which roughly 20 percent of global oil supplies flow daily.