STRAIT OF HORMUZ — The United States imposed a naval blockade of Iranian ports and launched Project Freedom, a military operation to guide commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, after negotiations between the U.S. and Iran broke down. The measures followed a ceasefire announced in early April, which Tehran linked to conditions on a separate Israel-Lebanon agreement.

Tehran refused to reopen the Strait of Hormuz until Israel reached its own ceasefire with Lebanon, and said the waterway would remain under Iranian control if it were opened. One-fifth of the world's oil and liquified natural gas flows through the strait.

Iran vowed never to surrender under threats. During the first twenty-eight days of the ceasefire, Iran fired at commercial vessels nine times, seized two container ships, and launched strikes or directly fired at U.S. forces and assets more than ten times. Iran also fired missiles and drones at the United Arab Emirates, including at its energy infrastructure, and targeted U.S. warships.

The U.S. military said it destroyed six Iranian fast boats in response to attacks and intercepted Iranian cruise missiles and drones. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said "the ceasefire is not over" despite Iran attacking U.S. personnel and the U.A.E.

Historically, negotiating a ceasefire to end an international conflict of this magnitude would have involved months or years of talks led by skilled negotiators with large teams of experts, the help of credible mediators such as the United Nations, and armies of diplomats shuttling between the different sides to build trust. Peace proposals are usually negotiated behind closed doors, and threats are seldom made publicly.

Gopi Krishna Bhamidipati, a senior fellow at the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy, addressed the U.S. approach. "We are using economic leverage and military signalling to stop wars. But what we are not doing is conflict transformation," he said.

Danny Citrinowicz, a former Israeli military-intelligence officer and Middle East expert at the Institute for National Security Studies, assessed the regional outlook. "The situation is very unstable, and every escalation can lead to a massive deterioration," he said.