President Donald Trump declared the ceasefire over amid escalating strikes. Both sides are vying for control of the Strait of Hormuz.

The United States launched new airstrikes against Iran early Thursday, and Tehran responded by targeting U.S.-allied Mideast countries in an exchange of fire that threatened an interim deal intended to help end the war in the Middle East.

The U.S. and Iran signed a 14-point memorandum of understanding on June 17 after two months of stalled talks. The interim agreement formalized the ceasefire, ended the U.S. naval blockade, reopened the Strait of Hormuz, and dangled a bevy of economic incentives in front of Iran, including a broad waiver on oil sanctions.

US President Donald Trump decided earlier this week that a ceasefire with Iran was no longer viable after being briefed on Iranian attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

The number of crossings through the Strait of Hormuz dropped to 25 yesterday, below the average 30 to 50 transits in recent days, according to ship-tracking company Kpler. Shipping operators were spooked after President Trump declared that the [ceasefire between the U.

The US and Iran traded strikes for a second day on Thursday, marking the most serious rupture yet in the countries' crumbling ceasefire. Tehran said it attacked US military sites

The oil market has continued to rally as the ceasefire between the US and Iran appears to be on life support. The latest EIA data shows that US commercial crude oil inventories increased by 2.99m barrels over the last week.

Hezbollah has rejected the latest ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Lebanese government and demanded a complete Israeli withdrawal.

Israel's military occupied the east, and 2 million Palestinians squeezed into the remaining areas. But Israeli forces have been pushing deeper into Gaza.