Global markets and oil prices have lurched again after the United States and Iran traded new strikes and U.S. President Donald Trump mused that fragile negotiations between the countries might be “over.”
At stake are the lives of Iranians and others throughout the region, including Israel and Lebanon, along with foreign residents of Gulf nations, U.S. military personnel stationed in multiple countries and thousands of mariners on ships still hoping to exit the Strait of Hormuz.
Here’s a brief timeline of the war and efforts to end it:
Feb. 28
Israel and the U.S. attack Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top officials, sparking the war. Iran quickly responds with strikes against Israel and across the Gulf region and asserts control over the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global oil and natural gas supplies from the Gulf.
March 2
The Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon enters the war by firing rockets at Israel.
Israel retaliates, leading to an invasion that will occupy large swaths of southern Lebanon.
March 8
Iran names one of Khamenei’s sons, Mojtaba, as the new supreme leader. He still has not been seen in public and is believed to be in hiding after reportedly being hurt in the war’s opening strikes.
April 7
A tenuous, two-week ceasefire deal is reached. Israel is not included in the discussions.
April 12
The U.S. and Iran end hours of historic face-to-face talks in Pakistan’s capital without reaching an agreement.
April 13
Trump says the U.S. has begun a blockade of Iranian ports in an attempt to pressure Tehran to give up its grip on the strait.
April 14
Lebanon and Israel hold their first direct diplomatic talks in decades in Washington.
April 17
Iran says it has reopened the strait to shipping, but that doesn’t last.
April 21
Trump says he is indefinitely extending the ceasefire.
May 3
Trump announces a U.S. effort to guide ships through the strait. That, too, doesn’t last.
May 31