The Fight Over Hormuz Boils Down to One Poorly Worded Clause in Trump’s Deal

President Trump’s memorandum of understanding with Iran was supposed to open the Strait of Hormuz and relieve the pressure on the global economy. Instead, it set off a test of wills that has exploded into violence twice in the past two weeks,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The root of the dispute is Paragraph 5, which says Iran will make arrangements to restore shipping through the strategic waterway and then work with Oman to determine how to administer it in the future. But it also includes an Iranian pledge to ensure safe passage and remove military obstacles such as mines.”
“Trump administration officials saw that clause as unlocking the strait, the main accomplishment of the president’s deal. Iranian hard-liners, however, have used it to push a maximalist interpretation that gives the Islamic Republic exclusive control over the waterway as a key source of leverage.”
US projectile hit perimeter area of Bushehr nuclear plant, Iran says
A series of explosions were heard across south of Iran, including near the Bushehr nuclear facility, on Thursday (July 9), according to Iranian media reports. The United States, however, has denied involvement in strikes on Iran. Tehran too has not blamed any country for the attack.
Quoting Iranian state media, the news agency AFP reported that a US-Israeli projectile hit a military headquarters on the outskirts of Bushehr, home to Tehran’s only civilian nuclear plant.
“Several areas in Bushehr province were targeted today, including the perimeter of the nuclear power plant, a military base in the town of Choghadak and a fishing pier in the south of the province,” Ehsan Jahanian, Deputy Governor of Bushehr province said.
No deaths have been reported, the official said. Three more explosions were heard in the southern city of Konarak, Iran’s Mehr News Agency reported.
A US official told Al Jazeera that Washington’s military was not behind the latest attack.
Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz on Thursday threatened to resume military campaign against Iran “with even greater force.”
“The army is ready and on alert for a resumption of fighting, in order to regain air superiority and strike again… in Iran, to eliminate threats, including a third time if necessary,” Katz said at a military ceremony.