US, Iran trade strikes despite visas for World Cup footballers

AI Summary

US and Iran have traded new attacks in the Middle East despite issuing visas to Iranian football players for the World Cup. The ongoing conflict threatens to undermine the fragile ceasefire that started in April amid efforts to control the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global energy route.

New attacks in the Middle East on Friday threatened to unravel an already fragile US-Iran ceasefire, even as American officials confirmed that Tehran's football players had received visas for the World Cup. Weeks of complex talks marked by threats and flare-ups of violence have failed to secure a deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key conduit for global energy flows. A ceasefire in the Middle East war, triggered nearly 100 days ago by US and Israeli strikes that wiped out Iran's top leadership, has been in place since April 8.