US and Iran Trade Strikes After Ceasefire Breaks, Tankers Hit in Strait of Hormuz

The US military launched large air attacks on Iran’s southern provinces on Wednesday, prompting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iran’s regular army to fire missiles and drones on US interests in Bahrain and Kuwait, Al Jazeera reported. Both sides accused each other of violating a ceasefire memorandum of understanding signed three weeks earlier.

Three tankers were hit in the Strait of Hormuz over the preceding two days.

Iran and the United States are expected to restart mediated negotiations to end the war the week after July 8, following the funeral of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The Statistical Center of Iran reported that inflation rose 88.6 percent in Khordad, the month ending June 21, compared with the same period a year earlier.

Food inflation reached nearly 134 percent year-over-year, with oils and fats surging more than 278 percent, red meat and poultry more than 178 percent, and bread and cereals nearly 139 percent.

Unemployment stood at 7.5 percent for the current Persian calendar year, while the labor participation rate was 40 percent, according to the same report released at the end of June. More than 38 percent of officially employed people worked over 49 hours a week, and youth unemployment exceeded 20 percent.

The base monthly minimum wage equals about $95 at the current open market exchange rate of 1.75 million rials per US dollar.

A Central Bank of Iran report for the year ending March 20 showed GDP growth of minus 0.7 percent and gross fixed capital formation of nearly minus 12 percent. Imports fell 16.6 percent and exports declined close to 5 percent. The International Monetary Fund projected Iran’s real GDP will shrink 6.1 percent in 2026.