On Sunday, when the US-Iran conflict had reached its 141st day, the US military said it had completed its latest round of strikes on Iran’s military infrastructure after vowing to “swiftly punish” Tehran for an attack on Jordan that left two US service members dead and one missing in action.
Explosions have also been heard in the Iranian city of Bandar Abbas and on Qeshm Island, Iranian state media reported.
The US launched fresh strikes on Iran overnight, hours after US President Donald Trump said Washington was “reinstating” a blockade on the country in the Strait of Hormuz.
Mr Trump also said the US would begin charging other ships for safe passage through the strait, upending hundreds of years of American policy supporting freedom of navigation across the globe.
Iran responded with attacks targeting Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, and two tankers associated with the United Arab Emirates travelling through the strait, killing one mariner and wounding eight others.
Iran says at least 50 people have been killed and more than 500 injured in strikes by the United States this month, as an Iranian negotiator says the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two is effectively “suspended” amid US violations.
The attacks left 10,000 people without water after a desalination plant was hit, Iran said. Tehran retaliated by launching another wave of drones and missiles at US-allied Gulf states.
“The US has violated and suspended all its commitments within the framework of the Islamabad MoU,” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, said, referring to the agreement signed last month.
As a result, Tehran has “likewise suspended all our own commitments” and implementation of the agreement and is “busy defending the country”, he added in comments reported by the semi-official Fars News Agency.
Gharibabadi took part in technical talks on the agreement earlier this month.
Iran’s supreme leader has warned that the United States will suffer “unforgettable lessons” at the hands of Tehran and its regional allies, accusing the US of repeatedly violating the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two countries.
A written statement attributed to Mojtaba Khamenei was read out on state television on Saturday, in which the supreme leader said Washington’s breaches of last month’s MoU showed that President Donald Trump’s signature was “utterly worthless and invalid”.
“The repeated breach of agreements by the Great Satan vis-à-vis the accord has once again proven to all that the signature of the President of America is now utterly worthless and invalid, and that bullying, hegemonism and savagery are inseparable components of the American creed and doctrine,” the statement read.
“Now that the American enemy is seeking to foment war and suffer heavier costs and further humiliation, it should know that the dear nation of Iran and the Resistance Front hold unforgettable lessons for it,” it added.
The US dramatically escalated its attacks on Iran this week by targeting civilian infrastructure, including bridges, railway lines, and water desalination plants.
Tehran has responded by successfully striking civilian infrastructure in Kuwait, with authorities there urging everyone to ration electricity.
Reports have surfaced in recent days that the Houthis in Yemen could close the Bab al-Mandeb gateway to the Red Sea in support of their crucial ally, Iran. That would further destabilise global energy markets, increase inflation and apply additional pressure on Trump to halt attacks.
The war is deeply unpopular in the US and has inflicted economic harm on Americans.
Tehran says it is suspending its commitments to the initial agreement reached with Washington last month, and Iran’s supreme leader derided US President Donald Trump’s signature as “worthless” in a new statement. After a week of renewed bombing, the Trump administration has offered little clarity on the path forward for its military campaign.
Undoubtedly, weekend developments could jolt the global markets on Monday, as the movements of futures, reflecting the impact of these developments till weekly close, and Monday’s opening levels will confirm the persisting weakness to push the futures to retest August 2025 lows in August 2026.
I conclude that if gold futures break the key support at $3,955 on July 20, 2026, it will confirm a steep slide till Federal Reserve’s meeting on July 27-28, 2026.
