US President Donald Trump has declared the ceasefire between the United States and Iran effectively over after renewed hostilities erupted in and around the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's busiest and most strategically important shipping routes.
Speaking during a NATO summit in Turkey on Wednesday, Trump dismissed the prospect of the truce holding, saying he no longer believed negotiations would produce a lasting outcome.
"As far as I'm concerned, it's over," Trump told reporters when asked about the status of the ceasefire.
"It's just a waste of time dealing with them. I'll let our wonderful negotiators keep talking if they want, but I don't see it. I don't like these people."
The latest escalation follows Iranian attacks on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, a vital maritime corridor through which a significant share of the world's oil exports passes.
Tehran has maintained that it has the right to regulate traffic through the waterway, insisting vessels use routes authorised by Iranian authorities and warning of action against ships that fail to comply.
According to reports, Iranian forces have targeted at least three ships in recent days, prompting the United States to launch extensive strikes against Iranian military targets on Tuesday. Iran later responded with retaliatory attacks targeting US military facilities in Gulf countries.
The renewed fighting has placed fresh strain on an interim agreement aimed at ending months of conflict, which began in late February following large-scale US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
The deteriorating security situation also rattled global energy markets, with oil prices rising by about five percent on Wednesday amid concerns over potential disruptions to international shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian state media reported multiple explosions around the strategic waterway, including blasts on Qeshm Island, in the city of Sirik, and in the port city of Bandar Abbas.
Additional explosions were later reported in Bushehr, home to Iran's only civilian nuclear power plant and located near Kharg Island, the country's main oil export terminal through which the majority of Iranian crude shipments pass.
Iranian media also reported that a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was killed during the latest exchanges.
The US Central Command said American forces struck more than 80 Iranian targets, including air defence systems, coastal radar installations and dozens of IRGC patrol boats.
According to the US military, the operation was intended to reduce Iran's ability to continue attacking commercial shipping operating through the international trade corridor.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they retaliated by targeting dozens of US military facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain. Authorities in both countries confirmed that air defence systems had been activated, although neither reported the extent of any damage.
Meanwhile, Iran's chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, accused Washington of violating the terms of the two countries' memorandum of understanding by reinstating oil sanctions and interfering with Iran's activities in the Strait of Hormuz.
The United States recently revoked sanctions waivers that had allowed limited Iranian oil sales, increasing economic pressure on Tehran as negotiations over a broader settlement continue.
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Iran's actions in the Strait of Hormuz were unacceptable and warned that further consequences could follow.
The official added that any future relief from US sanctions would depend on Iran demonstrating what Washington described as "good behaviour" under the terms of the existing agreement.