US strikes Iran ports for second day as Strait of Hormuz ceasefire collapses

The US-Iran ceasefire unraveled in 48 hours as American warplanes struck Iran's Chabahar port and military infrastructure for a second consecutive day.

The US military struck Iranian port infrastructure for a second straight day Wednesday, targeting Chabahar's maritime control tower and coastal defense sites after President Donald Trump declared the three-week-old ceasefire effectively dead.

"The United States is holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway," US Central Command said in a statement announcing the latest operation.

Brent crude rose nearly 6% to $76 a barrel after the US revoked Iran's oil export license — a key concession granted under the April memorandum of understanding. The Strait of Hormuz carries about 20% of the world's seaborne oil trade, and the renewed conflict has stranded at least nine commercial vessels with roughly 198 crew members, according to Indian officials who expressed concern over the disruption.

The collapse of the ceasefire — signed just three weeks ago after a war that began Feb. 28 — threatens to reopen a broader conflict that previously shut the Strait of Hormuz, disrupted global energy flows and pushed oil prices above $100 a barrel. Trump warned on Truth Social that further Iranian attacks would trigger a response "20 to 1."

The latest US operation followed Tuesday's strikes on more than 80 Iranian military sites, including 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attack boats, according to CENTCOM. Wednesday's wave hit additional coastal facilities across southern Iran, with explosions reported in Chabahar, Bandar Abbas, Konarak, Bushehr, Sirik and Qeshm Island.

Iranian state media reported that the maritime traffic control tower at Chabahar — Iran's only deep-sea port with direct Indian Ocean access — was destroyed, along with the Shahid Beheshti dock area and a police facility. Roughly half of Chabahar lost electricity following the strikes, according to local reports. India, which has invested $370 million in Chabahar under a 10-year bilateral deal signed in May 2024, now faces renewed uncertainty over its strategic foothold in southeastern Iran.

Iran retaliated within hours, launching drone and missile attacks against US military installations in Kuwait and Bahrain, including the US 5th Fleet headquarters in Manama. US forces said all incoming munitions were intercepted with no damage or casualties. Iran's parliamentary speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf condemned the US strikes, saying Washington "still has not learned that bullying and breaking promises are no longer cost-free."

The last time the US and Iran engaged in sustained tit-for-tat strikes across the Strait of Hormuz — during the initial conflict that began Feb. 28 — Brent crude surged past $100 a barrel, and shipping insurance premiums for Gulf transit rose more than tenfold. The current escalation follows a similar pattern, though oil markets have so far priced a more contained risk premium.

With Trump declaring the ceasefire "over" and Iran observing a weeklong funeral period for former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, diplomatic channels remain frozen. Negotiations that had been scheduled through Qatari mediators are suspended indefinitely. If the Strait of Hormuz closes again, analysts estimate that as much as 17 million barrels per day of crude and condensate — roughly 17% of global consumption — could be disrupted, potentially pushing oil prices back toward three-digit territory.

At the International Maritime Organization's 137th Council session Thursday, Iran's representative condemned the strikes as "unlawful use of force" against Iranian sovereignty, warning that the targeting of civilian fishing vessels and maritime safety equipment "directly endangers civilian lives, seafarer safety, commercial shipping and the marine environment."

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.