The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused the United States on Tuesday of violating the fragile ceasefire during the past 48 hours in Hormozgan province, south of the country, in a new escalation that exacerbates the tension between the two sides amid the ongoing military and diplomatic movements in the region.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry stated in an official statement that Tehran "will not leave any evil without a response, and will not hesitate to defend the Iranian nation," in an escalating tone that reflects the intensification of the political and military confrontation between the two sides.
In contrast, the US Central Command announced that its forces carried out, on Monday, strikes targeting rocket sites and boats that it said were preparing to plant mines in the Gulf waters, while the Iranian Revolutionary Guard confirmed that it had fired on US aircraft that tried to enter Iranian airspace.
This military escalation comes at a time when diplomatic efforts continue to contain the war that has been going on for three months, as the path of American-Iranian negotiations has moved to the Qatari capital, Doha, with the arrival of a high-level Iranian delegation to discuss sensitive files including the Strait of Hormuz, the nuclear program, and frozen Iranian funds.
In this context, Tehran seeks to release about $24 billion of frozen assets abroad, according to what the Iranian "Tasnim" agency reported, as part of efforts to achieve economic progress concurrent with the negotiating track.
On the American side, President Donald Trump stressed that the negotiations with Iran will lead either to a "great agreement" or "no agreement at all," while Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that Washington is ready to give diplomacy a chance, but at the same time is ready to deal with Tehran "in other ways" if political efforts fail.
On a related note, regional tension extended to include the Lebanese front, where Israel threatened to resume bombing Beirut, coinciding with its intensification of raids on areas in the south and Bekaa, reflecting the widening scope of escalation in more than one arena.
