Iran-US ceasefire threatened by fresh clashes

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The ceasefire between Iran and the US is again dangling by a thread after they traded attacks. Tehran launched drones and missiles against American bases in the Gulf, after the US hit in southern Iran with airstrikes. The spark for the violence was an Iranian attack against a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, but it is rooted in deeper flaws in the vaguely worded ceasefire agreement. Although the document says commercial vessels can temporarily use the Strait of Hormuz “free of charge”, it also states that Iran and Oman will hold talks on the waterway’s “future administration”. Iran has interpreted this to mean it can regulate shipping in the strait and has warned vessels not to use “unauthorised routes”. If the two sides cannot agree on how to implement this preliminary deal, it is hard to see how they will reach an understanding on Iran’s nuclear programme within the 60-day window they have given themselves.