How the US-Iran ceasefire and MOU broke down -- a timeline

The U.S. and Iran resumed trading shots despite the unsteady agreement.

A ceasefire struck between the U.S. and Iran to pause its full-scale conflict teetered on the edge of total collapse Wednesday when the U.S. completed a second round of strikes in retaliation for Iranian strikes on commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

President Donald Trump declared on the sidelines of the NATO summit on Wednesday that the ceasefire deal with Iran was "over" and laced into his Iranian counterparts, calling them "scum" and "sick people."

That same night, the U.S. retaliated again, increasing the intensity of its strikes and hitting 90 targets, according to U.S. Central Command. It also widened the geographic scope of its air campaign to include the southern and northeast parts of the country and the nature of its targets -- Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the U.S. hit two bridges.

The 60-day ceasefire, agreed to in a mid-June Memorandum of Understanding, was always shaky. But the latest attacks are an escalation from the contained back-and-forth that defined previous flareups: a common pattern in which Iran hits commercial shipping, the U.S. responds with limited retaliatory strikes, and Iran responds with attacks on Gulf allies of the US, including Bahrain and Kuwait.

That pattern ended this week when the U.S. struck Iran for a second consecutive night in what it called "offensive" strikes, and Iran retaliated with strikes on Jordan. Here's a timeline of the war with Iran, officially in a state of ceasefire since early April, but with a fragile agreement frequently interrupted by flareups.

Feb. 28: War in Iran begins

Israel kills Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei with the help of US intelligence, launching the U.S. and Israel headfirst into a two-month air war against Iran.

April 7: Trump announces ceasefire and US and Iran meet

The U.S. and Iran announced a two-week ceasefire before Vice President JD Vance traveled to Pakistan for high-level negotiations with Iranian officials. The cease-fire was extended indefinitely in late April.

June 17: Memorandum of Understanding struck

The U.S. and Iran signed a 14-point memorandum of understanding on June 17 after two months of stalled talks. The interim agreement formalized the ceasefire, ended the U.S. naval blockade, reopened the Strait of Hormuz, and dangled a bevy of economic incentives in front of Iran, including a broad waiver on oil sanctions.

The framework deal kickstarted a 60-day negotiating period to reach a permanent agreement and resolve several unanswered questions, largely about the future of Iran's nuclear program and the policing of passage through the strait. Those talks began in Switzerland but have since sputtered.

The strait quickly emerged as the key sticking point. The agreement only declared that Iran needed to use "its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels, with no charge for 60 days only" and did not rule out the possibility that Iran could enact "service fees" down the road. Iran has taken that language to mean it can exert and will maintain some degree of control over the strait.

June 25: First violation of MOU

Just over a week after signing the framework deal, Iran launched a drone strike against a ship in the Strait of Hormuz. The attack -- interpreted by the U.S. as a violation of the ceasefire -- prompted a round of contained strikes against Iran.

The two sides traded fire again the next day, with Iran hitting a tanker and the U.S. striking multiple targets in response. Iran also launched attacks against Bahrain and Kuwait, though these strikes were intercepted by the U.S. The two agreed to end the tit-for-tat shortly after.

July 7: Latest violation of MOU

Early this week, Iran struck three vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. responded by rescinding Iran's license to sell oil internationally. The decision reversed a key provision of the MOU -- and one that promised to bring significant economic relief to Iran.

The strikes followed a period of increased traffic through the strait, peaking at 49 ships on July 7. In the days since, passage in the Strait has slowed considerably, with only 25 ships crossing on Wednesday, according to Kpler data.

The two sides are still at odds over the meaning of the MoU's clauses related to the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran insisting it should maintain some authority over passage, while the U.S. argues the pact paved the way for an open waterway by the end of 60 days.

In an X post Wednesday responding to the U.S. strikes, Iranian Parliamentary Speaker Mohamed Ghalibaf said that "Hormuz will only open with Iranian arrangements, not American threats."

Vance said U.S. strikes were directly linked to Iranian actions in the strait.

"That artery has got to remain open, and that is what the Iranians have to know," he said on Wednesday. "If they try to close it down, there's going to be response from the American military. It's that simple."

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