The United States launched dozens of strikes on Iran early on Wednesday in what it said was retaliation for Tehran’s attacks on commercial ships in the highly contested Strait of Hormuz, sparking widespread fears of the renewal of all-out war in the Middle East.After the US attacks, President Donald Trump told reporters at a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkiye, that he thinks the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Iran is “over”. While he “might” allow peace talks to continue for now, he said, he believed they were a “waste of time”. In an angry tirade, he referred to the Iran leadership as “scum”.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listBrent crude rose 6 percent to $78 a barrel, while European stocks fell 1.6 percent, following his remarks. The dollar strengthened and government bond yields climbed, as investors weighed the risk of a renewed flare-up in inflation.The escalatory strikes on Iran came as peace talks were ongoing between the two countries amid the days-long funeral of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the early minutes of the US-Israel war on Iran back in February. They represent the largest such attacks since April, when both sides initially agreed to ceasefire talks.Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had responded to the strikes by targeting US assets in neighbouring countries as sirens went off in Bahrain and Kuwait early on Wednesday. One of its members was killed …
