Trump Demands a Deal - While American Missiles Are Already Hitting Iranian Tankers Again

The war between the United States and Iran is slipping deeper into a dangerous in between phase in which both sides officially continue speaking about a ceasefire while simultaneously attacking each other. On Friday morning, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the United States of “reckless military escalation” and charged Washington with deliberately sabotaging ongoing negotiations. The accusations come after new American strikes against Iranian tankers and military targets around the Strait of Hormuz.

The United States attacked and disabled the Iranian oil tanker Sea Star III after the vessel allegedly attempted to bypass the American naval blockade against Iran. At the same time, the Iranian news agency Fars News Agency reported that scattered clashes between Iranian and American forces had continued inside the Strait of Hormuz over the past several hours.

According to the United States Central Command, two additional Iranian oil tankers - the M/T Sea Star III and the M/T Sevda - were disabled with precision munitions after allegedly attempting to reach an Iranian port. The United States stated that the vessels were deliberately struck at their smokestacks in order to prevent them from continuing their journey. Another Iranian tanker had already been attacked on Wednesday. Tehran says it responded to that incident with missile and drone strikes against American warships.

Despite this, both governments continue claiming that the ceasefire formally remains in place. Iran’s Foreign Ministry has now begun describing the situation only as a “nominal ceasefire.” The wording itself shows how fragile the situation has become. While diplomats speak publicly about a possible political solution, military operations continue at the same time. At the center of the current negotiations is a one page American proposal that Washington and Tehran are apparently still discussing. The proposal would include reopening the Strait of Hormuz, halting combat operations for 30 days, and launching new talks over a broader agreement. The future of Iran’s nuclear program and its stockpile of highly enriched uranium remains especially controversial.

Marco Rubio stated Friday after talks in Rome that Washington expected a response from Tehran later the same day. At the same time, the military situation around the Persian Gulf continues deteriorating. The United Arab Emirates reported new Iranian missile and drone attacks that were allegedly intercepted by air defense systems.

The situation in Lebanon is also slipping back toward escalation. Israel intensified airstrikes against Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon after additional rockets were fired into northern Israel. Iran has been demanding for days that those strikes stop. A further escalation along that front could destroy the already fragile negotiations even further.

Meanwhile, China is watching developments with growing attention. In Beijing, the war is now openly being discussed as a strain on American military power. Chinese analysts point out that the United States has consumed enormous quantities of cruise missiles and precision munitions within only a few weeks. Some are already speaking about a weakening of American deterrence capabilities in the event of a crisis involving Taiwan.

Ahead of next week’s meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, nervousness is growing on both sides. Inside China, there is an increasingly widespread perception that Washington may no longer be capable of sustaining military resources in both the Middle East and the Pacific at the same time indefinitely. Particularly nationalist voices in Beijing see this as a strategic weakness of the United States.

Trump himself once again attempted to downplay the situation Thursday evening. He described the Iranian attacks to reporters merely as “a small thing.” At the same time, he again openly threatened Tehran with additional strikes if an agreement is not accepted quickly. The situation therefore remains exactly where it has been stuck for weeks now - somewhere between ceasefire, negotiations and a war that could spiral completely out of control again at any moment.