If you strike, you'll get hit.
Three weeks after a fragile ceasefire was signed, the United States and Iran have returned to open conflict, exchanging their heaviest strikes since the war's outbreak last February. The collapse unfolded against the backdrop of Ayatollah Khamenei's funeral — the supreme leader killed in the war's earliest hours — as tens of thousands mourned in Mashhad while explosions lit the skies over Iranian cities. What began as a dispute over shipping tolls in the Strait of Hormuz has widened into a confrontation touching nuclear facilities, allied nations, and the limits of coercive diplomacy. The question now is whether any mediator can hold open a door that both sides seem determined to close.
- The US struck roughly ninety Iranian targets in a single day — runways, missile launchers, infrastructure — while Iran retaliated by hitting ships in the Strait and firing on Kuwait and Qatar, allies hosting American forces.
- Trump declared the ceasefire 'over' on social media, framing military strikes as a negotiating lever, even as the scale of the attacks alarmed the very mediators trying to preserve talks.
- The exchanges erupted on the final day of Khamenei's state funeral, a moment of maximum symbolic weight, with crowds chanting anti-Trump slogans and Iran's new supreme leader still communicating only through written statements after being wounded in February.
- At least thirteen people have died across the two days of strikes — including a firefighter, civilians in Khuzestan, and nine Iranian military personnel — while explosions were confirmed near the perimeter of the Bushehr nuclear power plant.
- Oil prices spiked before settling, but the deeper instability held: negotiations toward a permanent settlement had been scheduled to begin the very day the strikes resumed, and that window is now in serious doubt.
On Thursday, the United States and Iran traded their heaviest blows since signing a ceasefire just three weeks earlier, each side insisting the other had broken faith first. The US military struck roughly ninety targets across Iran — missile launchers, runways, power-projection infrastructure. Iran answered by attacking shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and firing on Kuwait and Qatar, while accusing Washington of bombing near Bushehr, its only civilian nuclear plant. President Trump posted videos of the strikes and declared the truce finished.
The timing carried a particular weight. The exchanges unfolded as Iran buried Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Mashhad, the nation's holiest city. Khamenei had been killed in joint US-Israeli strikes at the war's outbreak in February. Tens of thousands gathered at the shrine of Imam Reza; some carried banners calling for Trump's death. His son and successor, Mojtaba, did not appear — he had been wounded in the same strikes and had not been seen publicly since.
The June 17th ceasefire had been designed to buy time for a permanent settlement, centered on reopening the Strait of Hormuz for sixty days. But it papered over a fundamental divide: Iran wanted to charge transit fees on the waterway; the US insisted it was international and must remain toll-free. Broader disagreements over Iran's nuclear program and inspection rights remained entirely unresolved.
On the ground, the human cost accumulated quietly. Three civilians died in Khuzestan province, a firefighter was killed at an airport in Iranshahr, and nine Iranian military personnel had died in strikes the day before. Iranian officials confirmed explosions near the Bushehr nuclear plant's perimeter — a development the UN's nuclear watchdog had previously warned could pose serious safety risks.
Iran's parliament speaker called the strikes a lesson in the cost of broken promises. The Iranian government accused Washington of war crimes, pointing to strikes on bridges serving cross-border trade with China. Oil markets spiked before settling, but the fragility was unmistakable. Negotiations toward a final deal had been scheduled to begin after the seven-day funeral period ended — on Thursday, the very day the strikes resumed. The window for diplomacy, already narrow, had grown narrower still.
On Thursday, the United States and Iran unleashed their largest volley of strikes since signing a ceasefire agreement just three weeks earlier, each side claiming the other had broken faith first. President Trump posted videos of explosions across Iranian territory and declared the truce finished. The US military said it had struck roughly ninety targets—missile launchers, runways, infrastructure meant to project Iranian power. Iran responded by attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz and firing on Kuwait and Qatar, while accusing Washington of bombing near Bushehr, the country's only civilian nuclear power plant.
The timing was deliberately provocative. These exchanges unfolded as Iran buried its former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Mashhad, the nation's holiest city. Khamenei had been killed in joint US and Israeli airstrikes last February, at the war's outbreak. Tens of thousands gathered at the shrine of Imam Reza for the funeral procession. Some carried banners with slogans calling for Trump's death. Khamenei's son and successor, Mojtaba, did not appear at the ceremony; he had been wounded in the same strikes that killed his father and had communicated only through written statements since.
The ceasefire agreement, signed on June 17th, was meant to buy space for negotiations toward a permanent settlement. It called for reopening the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping for sixty days—a critical passage through which roughly a fifth of the world's oil and gas flows. But the agreement papered over a fundamental disagreement: Iran wanted to charge transit fees; the US insisted the waterway was international and should remain toll-free. More broadly, the two countries remained far apart on Iran's nuclear program and the scope of international inspections.
Trump's public statements suggested he saw military strikes as a negotiating tool. "This is in retribution for yesterday's bombing of ships by Iran," he wrote on Truth Social. "If it happens again, it will get much worse!" Hours earlier, he had promised the strikes would be swift, not prolonged. Yet his rhetoric—and the sheer scale of the attacks—alarmed mediators trying to preserve the talks. The Qatari prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who had been shuttling between the capitals, spoke to Iran's foreign minister on Thursday, condemning the Iranian strikes on shipping.
On the ground, the human toll mounted quietly. At least three people died in Iran's southwestern Khuzestan province. A firefighter was killed at an airport in Iranshahr. Nine Iranian military personnel had died in strikes the day before. Iranian officials reported explosions in multiple cities. Ehsan Jahanian, the deputy governor of Bushehr province, confirmed that strikes had targeted the perimeter of the nuclear power plant, a military base in Choghadak, and a fishing pier. The UN's nuclear watchdog had previously warned that attacks near the plant could "pose a very real danger to nuclear safety."
Iran's parliament speaker and senior negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, responded with defiance. "America still hasn't learned that bullying and breaking promises are no longer cost-free," he posted on social media. "If you strike, you'll get hit." The Iranian government also accused the US of war crimes, pointing to strikes on two bridges in the eastern provinces that serve as key infrastructure for cross-border trade with China—commerce that had surged since the war began. Targeting civilian infrastructure without clear military justification could indeed constitute a war crime under international law.
Oil markets reacted sharply to the escalation, prices spiking before settling back down as calm appeared to return. But the underlying fragility was unmistakable. A US official told Reuters that Washington remained committed to finding a resolution and that technical talks were continuing. Yet Trump's declaration that the truce was over suggested the president saw little value in restraint. Negotiations toward a final deal had been scheduled to begin after Khamenei's seven-day funeral concluded on Thursday—the very day the strikes resumed. The window for diplomacy, already narrow, had grown narrower still.
Citas Notables
This is in retribution for yesterday's bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse!— President Trump, on Truth Social
America still hasn't learned that bullying and breaking promises are no longer cost-free. If you strike, you'll get hit.— Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iranian parliament speaker and senior negotiator
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why did the strikes happen on the day of Khamenei's funeral? Was that deliberate timing?
The timing is almost certainly deliberate on both sides. Iran was burying its former leader with massive crowds and nationalist fervor. The US struck anyway, and Iran retaliated the same day. It's a way of saying: your ceremonies don't matter, your grief doesn't matter, we're still at war.
Trump said the ceasefire was over. But the US official said talks are still continuing. How do you square that?
Trump speaks for Trump. The official speaks for the machinery of government. They're not necessarily contradictory—Trump may be using military pressure as leverage while the State Department tries to keep a negotiating channel open. It's a common pattern, but it's also unstable. If Trump escalates further, the diplomats lose their room to maneuver.
What's the actual disagreement keeping them apart?
Control of the Strait of Hormuz and nuclear inspections. Iran wants to charge tolls on ships passing through; the US says it's an international waterway. And Iran doesn't want intrusive inspections of its nuclear facilities. These aren't small things. They go to the heart of what each side thinks it won.
The nuclear plant strikes—how dangerous was that really?
Potentially very dangerous. The UN's nuclear watchdog has warned that attacks near Bushehr could compromise nuclear safety. We don't know yet if the strikes actually damaged anything critical. But the fact that the US was willing to strike near a nuclear facility shows how little restraint is left.
What happens next?
The funeral ends Thursday. Negotiations were supposed to restart. But if Trump keeps striking and declaring the ceasefire dead, there's no reason for Iran to show up at the table. The Qatari mediator is trying to hold things together, but it's getting harder.