US Strikes Iran Again as Fragile Ceasefire Collapses Within 48 Hours
The United States military struck multiple targets inside Iran on Saturday, officials confirmed, after a second consecutive day of attacks tested a fragile ceasefire that had raised hopes of ending weeks of hostilities. The Pentagon said the strikes were limited and designed to degrade Iran’s ability to conduct further attacks rather than topple its government.
The developments marked a sharp reversal from the cautious optimism that had taken hold in European capitals following a temporary halt to the exchange of fire. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on social media that Iran had “chosen escalation over diplomacy” and that the United States would respond accordingly. European foreign ministers who had spent days brokering the pause expressed frustration, according to a statement from the French Foreign Ministry.
Ceasefire Collapse in Less Than 48 Hours
The ceasefire, announced late Thursday following shuttle diplomacy by officials from Italy and the United Kingdom, unravelled within two days. Iran launched a fresh wave of drone attacks against commercial vessels in the Gulf on Friday, according to the British Maritime Trade Operations Agency, which coordinates responses to threats in international waters. A second wave followed Saturday morning, prompting the US military response.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon that the strikes targeted radar installations and weapons storage facilities in three provinces. “We made clear that any further attacks would be met with force,” Hegseth said. The Iranian mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called on all parties to return to the negotiating table. “The use of force will only deepen the cycle of violence,” Guterres said in a statement issued by his spokesperson. The International Atomic Energy Agency said its inspectors had suspended activities at two monitoring locations as a precautionary measure but remained in contact with Iranian officials.
Diplomatic Channels Reopen Under Pressure
Despite the military escalation, diplomatic channels remained technically open. Oman’s foreign minister, who has served as an intermediary between Washington and Tehran since the early days of the crisis, arrived in Geneva on Saturday for separate meetings with both delegations. A senior Omani official said the sultanate remained committed to facilitating talks and had not abandoned hope of a negotiated settlement.
Russian officials offered to host a new round of indirect talks in Moscow, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry. The United States has not formally accepted the invitation but has not rejected it either, according to a State Department spokesperson who spoke on condition of anonymity. China called for an emergency session of the UN Security Council, which was scheduled to convene on Sunday.
Regional Reactions and Economic Impact
Gulf states watched the escalation with alarm. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates both issued statements urging restraint and emphasising the importance of free passage through the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil flows. Insurance costs for vessels transiting the region spiked to levels not seen since early in the conflict, shipping analysts said.
Israeli officials expressed quiet satisfaction at the US response, according to two officials who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the matter publicly. Israel had conducted its own strikes inside Iran earlier in the week as part of a separate but linked wave of attacks. The two sets of operations were not coordinated, the officials said.
What Comes Next
Analysts warned that the next 72 hours would be decisive. If Iran chooses to respond to the US strikes, the ceasefire would effectively be dead and the conflict could expand in scope. If Tehran signals a willingness to return to talks without preconditions, a window for diplomacy may still exist, albeit a narrow one.
Congressional leaders were briefed on the strikes Saturday afternoon by senior Pentagon officials. Several Democratic senators called for the administration to seek congressional authorisation before any further military action, according to a statement from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The White House has not indicated it believes such authorisation is required.
The breakdown of the ceasefire underscored the deep difficulty of sustaining any diplomatic arrangement between the United States and Iran without a broader framework that addresses both security concerns and the nuclear programme. Previous administrations had attempted and failed to negotiate such a framework, and the current crisis has left little institutional trust between the two sides.
