Iran, US vie for Hormuz control amid more strikes

The United States and Iran each asserted on Monday that they controlled the Strait of Hormuz, after a weekend of attacks marked the sharpest escalation in violence since an interim peace deal was reached last month, further threatening any diplomatic efforts to end the protracted war in the Middle East.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it targeted US military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait, destroyed radar installations in Oman, and struck fuel tanks and ammunition depots at Jordan's Prince Hassan Air Base.

The US military said it hit dozens of Iranian targets on Monday, including air defense systems, radar sites, missile and drone equipment, and small boats. Iranian state media earlier confirmed explosions in the port cities of Bandar Abbas, Sirik and Jask, as well as on Qeshm Island.

The two sides are nearly halfway through the 60-day interim deal period that was supposed to pave the way for talks to permanently end the conflict. The latest wave of violence has once again stoked fears of a full-scale regional war.

On Sunday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sought an immediate halt to attacks across the Gulf region and urged Iran and the US to resume negotiations, warning that renewed hostilities risk "catastrophic consequences" for regional stability and the global economy.

Iran warned on Monday that it would have to stop honoring the memorandum of understanding reached in June if the US fails to deliver on its commitments. "Each time the other party fails to meet its obligations, we will withhold our compliance. We will continue to act in this manner," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said at a news conference in Tehran.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's chief negotiator and parliament speaker, said on social media that the era of one-sided deals is over, warning that parties should honor their commitments or face the consequences. "Reality is knocking," he wrote on Sunday.

In a phone interview with Fox News on Monday, US President Donald Trump said the ‌US would probably take over the Strait ‌of Hormuz and "should be reimbursed" for controlling the vital ‌waterway.

"We're going to ‌keep the strait, and we'll probably run it. We'll become ‌the guardian of the strait. ... And ‌we ​should be reimbursed for that," he was quoted as saying to the news channel by Reuters.

In a related development, the United Kingdom targeted the Revolutionary Guard and ​another Iran-linked group after a string of antisemitic attacks on Britain's streets, ‌using proscription-like powers designed to tackle state-backed threats, Reuters reported.

Amid renewed military strikes between the US and Iran, oil prices surged more than 3 percent on Monday, reigniting concerns over energy shipments through the Strait of ‌Hormuz.

In a statement issued on Monday, the Revolutionary Guard said the only way to restore regular traffic through the strait was to end US military interventions in the crucial maritime corridor, warning that "continued interference could lead to greater incidents in the global oil and gas sector".

The US military's Central Command said on social media: "The Strait of Hormuz is open to all vessels seeking to lawfully transit. Iran does not control it."

Trita Parsi, executive vice-president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, a US think tank, told Al Jazeera that disagreements over interim-period maritime governance lie at the root of the current tensions.

Military strikes cannot shift the core strategic realities to favor either side, Parsi said. "At best, this far more intense round of fighting may push both sides back to the negotiating table, as they realize that compromise is necessary," he added.

Ebtesam Al Ketbi, president of the Emirates Policy Center, a think tank based in the United Arab Emirates, said that Gulf states are trapped in a conflict "gray zone", as limited strikes serve as political signals and maritime pressure acts as bargaining leverage.

Gulf nations need long-term frameworks to manage chronic risks amid incomplete peace, she said in an opinion piece published in The National newspaper.

"When regional and international actors grow accustomed to limited escalation ... the meaning of stability begins to change," she wrote. "The Gulf states' biggest challenge may be not allowing this limbo of neither war nor peace to become a permanent fate and not allowing limited conflict to reshape their future."

Contact the writers at cuihaipei@chinadaily.com.cn