The United States and Iran are engaged in a series of retaliatory strikes, as a dispute over control of the Strait of Hormuz escalates and jeopardizes efforts to conclude their ongoing conflict. The tensions have intensified over the critical international shipping channel, with Iran announcing the strait's closure over the weekend.
US officials, however, maintain that Iran does not control the strait and that maritime traffic remains unimpeded. This divergence in claims has cast significant doubt on a preliminary agreement, signed in June by both nations, which aimed to end their four-month war and reopen the vital waterway.
Barbara Plett Usher, reporting for the BBC from Jerusalem, is examining the latest developments and the implications for regional stability and global trade routes that rely on passage through the Strait of Hormuz.