The future of Middle East peace talks has been thrown into question after Iran’s foreign ministry said it needed to “reassess” its participation, following overnight strikes between the US and Iran that drew neighbouring states back into a conflict that has rumbled on since late February.
The US launched strikes on Iranian military and surveillance sites in the early hours of Wednesday, targeting air defence systems, ground control stations and radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz, according to the US military’s Central Command (Centcom). The action was described as “a proportional response” to the downing of a US Apache helicopter on Monday, in which both crew members survived and were rescued by an American sea drone.
“Iran says it must reassess peace talks after US and Iran trade strikes over downed helicopter.”
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) responded by launching strikes on 21 targets at US bases in the region – one in Bahrain and another in Jordan – while Kuwait’s army said it was also intercepting an attack. Jordan’s military said it had shot down five missiles fired from Iran.
President Donald Trump, who had earlier accused Iran of shooting down the helicopter, wrote on Truth Social that Iran had taken “too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them” and would now “have to pay the price”. He also shared a clip from the television drama “The West Wing” in which a fictional president argues for a “disproportionate response” to attacks on Americans. US House Speaker Mike Johnson said he was in the room with Trump when he decided to resume strikes, adding: “We lament that it became necessary.”
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, warned that his country “will leave no attack or threat unanswered”, writing on X: “Despite its defeats on the battlefield, the US opted to test our determination. Leave our region if you want to be safe.”
The tit-for-tat attacks were the most severe escalation since a ceasefire was established in early April. Talks to turn that truce into a durable peace have been stalling for weeks, with both sides launching limited strikes and trading blame.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baqaei, accused the US of “damaging this diplomatic process through the contradictory messages it sends, its repeated shifts in positions and demands, and, worst of all, through repeated violations of the ceasefire”. He added: “Following overnight events, we need to reassess … Any diplomatic process requires a minimum stable environment.”
Trump’s comments marked a sharp reversal from Tuesday, when he told journalists the US and Iran were “in the final throes of what will be a very, very good deal”. Now, with both sides promising more fire, those hopes hang in the balance.