West Asia war LIVE: U.S. strikes Iran for third night as Trump says deal still 'possible'
United States forces carried out a third consecutive night of strikes on Iranian targets, with US Central Command stating the strikes were intended to impose costs on Iranian forces and degrade their ability to threaten civilians and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz
Despite the continuing military action, officials indicated that a negotiated settlement with Iran remained a possibility
The strikes form part of a wider regional escalation that has disrupted commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the broader Persian Gulf
The episode continues a pattern of periodic US-Iran confrontation over Iran's nuclear programme and regional posture that has recurred over the past two decades
The Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman — Distinguishing the Water Bodies
The current conflict spans three connected but legally and geographically distinct water bodies: the Persian (Arabian) Gulf, a semi-enclosed sea bordered by eight littoral states; the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow chokepoint connecting the Gulf to open water; and the Gulf of Oman, which in turn opens into the Arabian Sea. UPSC geography questions frequently test this exact chain of connected seas and their bordering states.
Key Details
- Persian Gulf littoral states (clockwise from north): Iran, Oman (Musandam exclave), the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Iraq — eight countries in total
- The Gulf covers roughly 2,41,000 sq km and narrows to its minimum width at the Strait of Hormuz, which separates Iran (north) from Oman's Musandam Peninsula (south)
- Beyond Hormuz lies the Gulf of Oman, a marginal sea of the Arabian Sea bordered by Iran, Oman, Pakistan and the UAE
- The region holds close to three-fifths of the world's proven oil reserves and about a third of proven natural gas reserves, concentrated in the Gulf littoral states
Strikes described as targeting Iranian ability to threaten shipping "in the Strait of Hormuz" concern this specific narrow chokepoint segment of the wider Persian Gulf-Gulf of Oman-Arabian Sea chain, a distinction relevant to both map-based prelims questions and the strategic logic of the conflict.
The Iran Nuclear Programme and the JCPOA Framework
Iran's nuclear programme has been the central issue of recurring negotiations since the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed by Iran and the P5+1/E3+3 grouping (US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany, coordinated by the EU). The JCPOA capped Iran's uranium enrichment and stockpile levels in exchange for sanctions relief, verified through International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections under a Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement and Additional Protocol.
Key Details
- The JCPOA was endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015) and formally implemented from January 2016
- The agreement restricted enrichment to 3.67% for over a decade and limited centrifuge numbers, with IAEA inspectors granted access to declared and, under specified conditions, undeclared sites
- The United States withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018, after which Iran progressively exceeded the agreement's enrichment limits; renewed negotiation efforts have recurred intermittently since
- IAEA verification and safeguards remain the principal international mechanism for monitoring Iran's nuclear activities independent of any bilateral political settlement
References to a negotiated "deal" being still possible situate the current military standoff against this decade-long, unresolved nuclear-diplomacy track, in which the IAEA's verification role remains the technical backbone of any eventual settlement.
India's Operation Sankalp — Naval Escort in the Gulf of Oman
India maintains a standing naval mission, Operation Sankalp, launched by the Indian Navy in June 2019 specifically to safeguard Indian-flagged merchant vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz and the wider Gulf of Oman amid recurring regional tensions.
Key Details
- Operation Sankalp involves destroyer- and frigate-class deployments coordinated among the Ministries of Defence, External Affairs, Shipping, and Petroleum and Natural Gas, along with the Directorate General of Shipping
- Between June 2019 and May 2021 alone, around 20 Indian Navy warships escorted over 200 Indian-flagged vessels carrying more than 21 million tonnes of cargo through the region
- The mission has been reactivated and intensified during the current escalation, with Indian warships providing close-protection escort to India-flagged crude and LPG tankers
- It exemplifies India's broader "non-aligned but present" doctrine in West Asian conflicts: active protection of national economic interests without taking a military or diplomatic side
As US strikes continue to disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, Operation Sankalp is the institutional mechanism through which India insulates its energy and trade flows from the conflict without becoming a party to it.
- Persian Gulf littoral states: Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Oman (8 countries)
- JCPOA signed 2015 by Iran and the P5+1/E3+3; endorsed by UNSC Resolution 2231 (2015); US withdrew in 2018
- Operation Sankalp: launched June 2019; escorted 200+ Indian-flagged vessels and 21+ million tonnes of cargo between 2019 and 2021
- The Persian Gulf region holds close to 60% of the world's proven oil reserves and roughly a third of proven natural gas reserves
- IAEA Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement and Additional Protocol remain the principal verification mechanism for Iran's nuclear activity