Brussels, July 13, 2026 (Lusa) - Portugal's foreign minister blamed Iran on Monday for provoking the resumption of hostilities in the Middle East, accusing the regime of breaching the memorandum of understanding signed with the United States by attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the meeting of European Union (EU) foreign ministers in Brussels, Paulo Rangel stated that “there is no doubt that these latest hostilities were largely provoked by Iran’s behaviour in the Strait of Hormuz”.
“I am referring specifically to the start of this latest phase, which has now been going on for four or five days, but, in fact, Iran is not complying with the memorandum of understanding, and this has obviously led to an escalation of reciprocal reactions,” he maintained.
Paulo Rangel said that the most important thing now was to “return to diplomacy”, noting that countries such as Pakistan and Qatar have played an “important role” in this regard.
“Now, the fact that Iran has attacked the Gulf States again clearly presents further challenges, because those States, especially those that had some capacity for mediation, find themselves in a difficult position to do so,” he said.
The minister noted that Portugal views the situation “with great concern”.
“What the EU can do is urge the parties to return to the framework of the memorandum of understanding so that an agreement can be reached,” he said, reiterating that freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz is a “non-negotiable” issue.
“And if Iran can respect it, that will clearly help us to achieve peace as soon as possible,” he said.
Last night, the United States bombed Iran once again, and Tehran retaliated today by attacking Washington’s regional allies — actions on an unprecedented scale from both sides since the ceasefire of 8 April.
The cause of the renewed hostilities centred on the issue of the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran is seeking to maintain control of the sea route established in the early days of the war.
The Islamic Republic's announcement at the weekend that it would once again close the strategic global oil and gas transport route triggered a sharp rise in oil prices.
North Sea Brent crude for September delivery, the international benchmark, rose by more than 4% to 79.13 dollars.
After almost 40 days of bombardments in a conflict triggered by attacks by Israel and the United States on 28 February, a ceasefire had come into force in April; the parties subsequently formalised it on 17 June through a memorandum of understanding signed by Washington and Tehran, despite sporadic clashes in the vicinity of the strait.
However, following attacks last Tuesday on vessels attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the clashes have resumed with renewed intensity.
TA/ADB // ADB.
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