Tensions Rise as U.S.-Iran Retaliatory Strikes Escalate, Leaving Global Economy in Limbo Again

The United States, which resumed attacks on Iran after about a month, said it would respond firmly to Iranian provocations under an "an eye for an eye" principle for the time being instead of pursuing negotiations. As the two sides clash again, South Korea and countries linked to the Strait of Hormuz are expected to suffer damage.
■ Trump Says He Does Not Care About an "Iran Agreement" as Tankers Are Hit
U.S. President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social on the first day of the month, local time, saying, "Unlike ABC News' fake report, I am not trying to bring Iran to the negotiating table." He stressed, "I do not care if Iran signs an agreement that is useless to them. We are in a much better position now that we have complete control of the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran's economy is completely collapsing." He added, "They are heading toward the inevitable," and asked, "When will the Iranian people rise up and fight?"
The United States Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees operations against Iran, posted on X on the same day that it had "successfully completed a series of airstrikes against Iranian military targets on the first day of the month." It added that the strikes targeted, among other things, air-defense and radar facilities, maritime assets, mine-laying capabilities, and communications facilities belonging to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The U.S. military is reported to have struck about 100 targets.
In a Fox News interview that day, Trump explained the background to the airstrikes, saying, "We have continued to monitor Iran's attempts to rebuild its radar systems. We waited until the work was nearly complete and then carried out the airstrikes." He said, "I think any agreement with them would not be worth the piece of paper it is written on," adding, "We gave them many opportunities."
Axios, a U.S. political news outlet, reported on the first day of the month that the U.S. military had also attacked two Iranian government-owned tankers, along with military facilities. U.S. officials described the move as "tanker for tanker" and said it was a new response authorized by Trump. They said the United States had directly retaliated against Iranian tankers, going beyond an indirect maritime blockade, in response to Iran's attacks on civilian merchant vessels.
■ Oil Prices Surge as Strait of Hormuz Is Blocked
The United States, which had carried out airstrikes against Iran alongside Israel since February this year, halted the strikes on July 30 and did not officially attack Iran until the 29th of last month.
However, in an announcement on the 30th of last month, the United States said Iran had attempted to deploy remote-controlled mines using rockets in the Strait of Hormuz and attacked Iranian rocket launchers. Iran responded the same day by striking a U.S. military base in Jordan.
The IRGC said it launched retaliatory attacks after the second U.S. airstrike on the first day of the month. It stated, "Using a new air-defense system, we shot down an advanced MQ-9 Reaper drone operated by the U.S. invading forces, bringing the cumulative number of aircraft downed to 50." The IRGC also claimed that it had attacked a U.S. military base in Jordan with ballistic missiles and that many U.S. service members had been killed. The Tasnim News Agency reported, "The Iranian military's decisive operation targeting the United States has begun," adding, "Iranian missiles and drones are striking U.S. military bases and key facilities across the region." In an interview immediately after the airstrikes on the first day of the month, Trump stressed, "Today's attack was a very major blow. If this goes as far as a third round, Iran will completely disappear as a country."
International oil prices surged by about 5% that day, while all three major U.S. stock indexes closed lower. According to data from Kpler, a maritime information company, an average of 99 vessels per day passed through the Strait of Hormuz during the final 10 days of February, just before the war with Iran began. On the first day of the month, however, only nine vessels passed through the strait.
Meanwhile, the Financial Times (FT) reported that on the 31st of last month, the Senegal Prosperity, a tanker owned by South Korea's Janggeum Maritime, and the Sidr, a tanker owned by Saudi Arabia's state-run oil company, were attacked.
However, the vessels were sub-chartered, meaning that a leased vessel had been leased out again. It was confirmed that neither was a South Korean-flagged vessel nor carried Korean crew members, so they were not subject to management by the government or the Korea Shipowners' Association. Janggeum Maritime said, "We operate container ships, but we do not directly operate the tanker business." An official from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) also dismissed the matter, saying, "The vessels managed by the government are South Korean-flagged vessels and BBCHP vessels, or bareboat charter vessels with a purchase option. The tanker reported to have been hit does not fall into either category."
[email protected] Reporters Park Jong-won and Kim Yun-ho Reporter