Iran has condemned the US over what it described as a "blatant" breach of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, the ceasefire agreement signed between the two sides, after Washington revoked the temporary suspension of sanctions on Iranian oil sales.
In a statement, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said the US Treasury Department's decision amounted to a "blatant violation" of Article 15 of the memorandum and held Washington responsible for the consequences.
The ministry said the move, less than 20 days after the memorandum was signed, underscored what it described as the US government's bad faith, unreliability and failure to honour its commitments.
It said Iran had acted "in complete good faith" and deployed all available resources to fulfil its obligations under the memorandum since it was signed.
The ministry accused Washington of repeatedly breaching the memorandum while seeking to justify those violations under various pretexts.
It also warned of the consequences of what it called the US violation of the agreement, saying Iran would take any measures it deems necessary to safeguard its national interests and security.
US launches strikes
The US military said it had launched a series of strikes against Iran in response to what it described as Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
"US Central Command forces have begun launching a series of powerful strikes against Iran to impose heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping crewed by innocent civilians in an international waterway," CENTCOM said.
"The US strikes are in response to Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels that were transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's demonstrated aggression was unwarranted, dangerous, and a clear violation of the ceasefire," it added.
CENTCOM did not provide details on the targets or the scale of the operation.
