Waltz says ceasefire ‘broken down’ after US and Iran trade fire
It's unlikely Iran attacks came from 'errant' group, Waltz said.
After the U.S. military launched strikes against Iran for the third time in less than a week, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said Sunday that "all options are on the table," saying that Iran "is not living up to" the preliminary agreement negotiators reached in June.
"Regardless of whether you're party to some conflict, you cannot start shooting in all directions, attacking your neighbors, attacking civilian shipping, civilian infrastructure, throwing mines in international waterways, and acting like the irresponsible genocidal regime that many have always accused it of being," Waltz said in an interview with ABC "This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz. "The world stands with the United States that this is unacceptable behavior, and the president ... has always said this was a performance-based MOU (memorandum of understanding). Iran is not living up to it, and all options are on the table."
Overnight Saturday, U.S. Central Command announced it had launched another round of strikes after Iran attacked another commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz. Approximately 140 Iranian targets were hit inn those strikes, per CENTCOM, bringing the total targets hit over the three nights to more than 300.
On Saturday night, Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz was closed, an apparent violation of the memo of understanding previously signed by the U.S. and Iran. But on Sunday morning, CENTCOM said the waterway was open and that "traffic is flowing." The reality remains unclear.
"I think Iran is still very much of the mindset that it can use the global economy as some type of leverage," Waltz said. "We've said here at the United Nations, 143 nations have stood together and said what Iran is doing is in violation of international law."
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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