US-Iran Strikes Resume as Qatar Ceasefire Talks Stall Over Hormuz

Energy markets face renewed pressure as US forces struck Iranian missile sites and boats in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, while Iran reported downing a US drone the next day. The exchanges occurred during a temporary ceasefire announced April 8 after six weeks of open conflict that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iranian targets February 28. Both sides continue to restrict shipping through the waterway that carried one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas before the war, producing a shortfall of roughly 13 million barrels per day now met by inventory draws.

Negotiations in Doha center on reopening the strait, releasing up to $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets, and setting terms for 60 days of nuclear talks. Iran seeks half the assets immediately upon signing and the rest within 60 days; the United States conditions any release on verifiable limits to uranium enrichment and ballistic-missile programs. Iranian officials have stated they will reopen the strait only under their own arrangements and will use unfrozen funds to improve missile and drone capabilities.

US Central Command described Monday’s strikes as self-defense against threats to American forces. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps asserted the right to respond to any ceasefire breach. South Korea’s foreign ministry reported that debris from an attack on the container ship HMM Namu on May 4 matched Iranian Noor-series anti-ship missiles, though it declined to identify the launcher or confirm intent. Casualty totals cited by Iranian and Lebanese health ministries reach several thousand; US and Israeli figures remain lower and have not been reconciled with those counts.

President Trump moved a cabinet meeting from Camp David to the White House on Wednesday, citing weather, and has described an agreement as largely negotiated while warning that media portrayals could frame any outcome as an Iranian victory. Retired US generals appearing on cable news stated that Iranian actions, including continued mining activity, indicate a lack of good faith. Institute for the Study of War assessments describe a major impasse on sequencing of sanctions relief and nuclear commitments, as well as on guarantees for Israeli operations in Lebanon.

The central tension remains whether either side will accept limits on its core demands—control of the strait and asset access for Iran, versus verifiable nuclear restraint and security assurances for the United States—before the fragile pause collapses into sustained escalation.