Global

Mediators from Pakistan and Qatar have been desperately trying to salvage the US-Iran agreement, outlinesd in a Memorandum of Understanding, that over the last few days looked increasingly as if it was falling apart. After Iran tried to assert its control over the Strait of Hormuz, firing at ships that had ignored its claims, the US bombed targets in Iran. Iran subsequentlky bombed US military facilities in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Jordan. But the last twelve hours have been quieter, and observers believe that the mediators - Pakistan and Qatar have persuaded the two beligerents to stop shooting and return to diplomacy. Fighting immediately impact the precarious oil market. It was announced that the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve has hit its lowest level since 1983, due to growing tensions with Iran and global supply concerns. President Trump acknowledged to reporters on Wednesday that any time the US strikes Iran, oil prices jump. And they did. The reserve fell by 6.2 million barrels in the week ending July 3 to 319.5 million barrels – its lowest level since the Reagan administration. In the Gulf, there is increasing concern on the fragility of the US-Iran agreement.Zeidon Alkinani, founding director of the Arab Perspectives Institute, says Gulf states are conducting efforts to ensure diplomacy ends the US war on Iran as soon as possible. “In the long term, we might be seeing different schools of thought and imagining a future relationship with Iran, a future relationship with the US, or imagining new transnational alliances from the regional perspective,” Alkinani told Al Jazeera. Considerations would include how to achieve more deterrence for Iranian and Israeli expansionism, and how to curb too much reliance on the United States, he added. “Others might want to continue things as they were to ensure that the conflicts were to end,” said Alkinani.

The fragile cease fire between the United States and Iran continued being tested last night, The US said it had hit 90 targets in Iran, and Iranian media reported that explosions were heard in areas along the country's southern coast. Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar have subsequently reported Iranian attacks - Iran said it had targeted US bases in the three countries. Meanwhile, ships hoping to sail through the Strait of Hormuz face a confusing picture, with both sides seeking to push traffic through different routes. Vessels have been advised to avoid going through the middle of the Strait of Hormuz due to the ongoing conflict. The Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) - which the US is a member of - has recommended vessels take a route close to the coast of Oman at the south of the strait, in order to avoid the risk of Iranian mines. But Iran says no vessel is permitted to pass through the strait unless it travels along a designated route further north, closer to its coastline. Its Persian Gulf Strait Authority will only issue permits if that route is taken, with others "strictly prohibited". These competing attempts to manage how the strait operates have added to the fraught situation facing shipping companies in the vitally important shipping lane. The Iranian foreign ministry has accused the US of a "flagrant breach" of parts of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed on 17 June, which brought about a temporary truce. That called for an "immediate and permanent termination of military operations", and said Iran would "make arrangements using its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels" through the Strait of Hormuz. How both sides interpret that part of the MoU has become a key point of tensions in this conflict. The foreign ministry says the US carried out attacks under the "false pretext" of responding to "alleged incidents involving several non-compliant vessels" in the strait. The US previously accused Iran of a "clear violation of the ceasefire" for targeting three commercial ships in the strait. Iran has not claimed responsibility for those attacks. The foreign ministry also condemns "crude rhetoric" from Donald Trump, who on Wednesday called Iran's leadership "scum" and "cuckoo". It accuses the US of a "grave war crime" for targeting of several locations, including two railway bridges.