Israel resumes strikes on Iran, shattering April ceasefire as Hormuz tensions reignite
Israel's military confirmed its air force struck military sites in western and central Iran, the first such attack since the April 7 ceasefire, with Iranian state media reporting explosions in Isfahan, Kermanshah, Tabriz, and Tehran. Iran and Israel are again trading strikes, threatening to plunge the region back into full-scale war, while President Trump publicly urged both sides to immediately stop 'shooting.' Iran's ambassador to Russia signaled the Strait of Hormuz would reopen but under new Iranian and Omani conditions, including transit fees. Asian and Wall Street markets fell on the renewed conflict, and India issued a fresh travel warning urging citizens to leave Iran.
Why it matters
A collapse of the April ceasefire revives the most dangerous direct Israel-Iran confrontation in decades, with the potential to pull in the US, Gulf states, and Iran's proxy network across Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen. Iran's leverage over the Strait of Hormuz—through which roughly a fifth of global oil flows—makes any escalation a direct threat to global energy supplies and prices.
🔎 Ground signal
Al Jazeera frames the renewed strikes as evidence Trump failed to restrain Netanyahu, while Trump publicly distances himself, insisting the flare-up doesn't betray his 'no new wars' pledge—signaling friction between Washington and Israel over escalation control.