Middle East: New exchange of strikes between the United States and Iran, Donald Trump threatens to annihilate Tehran

The United States and Iran exchanged new military strikes on Saturday and Sunday, accusing each other of flagrant violations of the fragile ceasefire agreement signed on June 17. Faced with this resurgence of hostilities, US President Donald Trump explicitly threatened to resume military operations to definitively destroy the Islamic Republic. These new tensions are directly linked to control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which Iran sealed off during the war launched against it on February 28 by Israel and the United States. While the strait has officially reopened under the terms of the agreement, Tehran has only authorized a single passage along its own coastline, threatening to attack any ship that does not strictly adhere to it.

On Saturday, US aircraft targeted ten major infrastructure sites, including Iranian military surveillance systems, communications centers, air defense sites, drone storage facilities, and sea mine-laying sites, as specified by US Central Command (Centcom) on the social network X. These massive bombings were launched in retaliation for an Iranian drone attack on the Panamanian-flagged oil tanker M/T Kiku, which was carrying more than two million barrels of crude oil through the Strait of Gibraltar. Iranian media confirmed several explosions in the southern regions of Sirik and Qeshm, while Centcom released a brief video purported to show the raid.

In response, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the country's ideological army, announced early Sunday morning that it had launched waves of missiles and drones toward Kuwait and Bahrain. They claimed to have destroyed eight key US military installations at the Ali al-Salem airbase in Kuwait and at the Fifth Fleet naval base in Port Salman, Bahrain. The Kuwaiti General Staff confirmed it was repelling attacks from hostile vectors, while in Bahrain, air raid sirens sounded twice overnight, prompting authorities to impose a lockdown.

These clashes come after the United States had already launched airstrikes on Friday, breaking the truce established to open lasting peace negotiations. On his Truth Social network, Donald Trump lashed out, accusing Tehran of having "violated, once again," the ceasefire. "It may be that one day we will no longer be able to act rationally and will be forced to complete by military force the mission we have so well begun. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will cease to exist!" the White House occupant declared.

On the other front of the conflict, the situation remains just as volatile. The leader of the pro-Iranian Lebanese Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, described the framework peace agreement signed by Lebanon and Israel as a "grave mistake," deeming it humiliating and shameful for national sovereignty. Meanwhile, the Israeli army conducted new raids in southern Lebanon, killing at least one person according to Lebanese health authorities. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced an extended deployment of his troops in neighboring Lebanon, making any military withdrawal contingent on the complete disarmament of Hezbollah.