Iran Warns The U.S. Against Attacks On Its Oil Tankers And Other Ships But Ceasefire Appears To Hold

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s Revolutionary Guard navy issued no warning Saturday Attack on Iranian oil tankers or merchant ships would face a “massive attack” on one of the U.S. bases and enemy ships in the area, even if a tenuous ceasefire appeared to hold.

Iranian state television broadcast the warning a day after the United States hit two Iranian oil tankers, casting doubt on a ceasefire that the United States has been in place for a month. insisted it was still in effect. The US military said the tankers were trying to break through the blockade of Iranian ports.

Meanwhile, Bahrain, which hosts the US Navy’s regional headquarters, announced the arrest of dozens of people allegedly linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

Washington is awaiting Iran’s response to its latest offer for a deal to end the war and reopen Iran. Strait of Hormuz Transferring and rolling back Tehran’s controversial nuclear program. And the President of Russia Vladimir Putin He said Moscow’s offer to buy enriched uranium from Iran to help negotiate the deal remained on the table.

Bahrain said it arrested 41 people it said were part of a group affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard. The interior ministry said investigations confirmed they were in contact with the Guard and were collecting money “with the intention of sending it to Iran” to support “terrorist operations”.

The small island in the Persian Gulf is ruled by a Sunni Muslim monarchy but, like Iran, has a majority Shiite population. Rights groups said the kingdom was using the war between Iran and the United States, which bases its Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, as an excuse to suppress dissent.

Ibrahim Azizi, head of the national security commission of the Iranian parliament, made a warning to Bahrain in a statement on social media: “Standing by the US-backed decision will have serious consequences. The Strait of Hormuz is a vital lifeline; do not risk closing it to yourself forever.”

Iran has largely blocked the critical waterway for global energy since the US and Israel launched the war on February 28, causing a global rise in fuel prices. world markets are shaking.

The US imposed its own blockade of Iranian ports. U.S. Central Command said Saturday that its forces have turned away 58 merchant ships and “disabled” four since the blockade began April 13.

Britain’s defense ministry said it would deploy a warship to the Middle East to take part in a potential mission to protect merchant shipping in the Strait of Hormuz once hostilities end.

The ministry said HMS Dragon would make “preliminary preparations” in the region, ready to join the British and French-led security plan. France announced this week that it would move its aircraft carrier strike group to the Red Sea in preparation.

Britain and France led meetings attended by several dozen countries that formed a coalition to restore freedom of navigation in the strait. However, they underline that the ceasefire will not begin until a sustainable ceasefire is achieved and the maritime industry is assured that ships can pass through the Bosphorus safely.

US President Donald Trump to have recurring threats If Iran does not accept the agreement to reopen the strait and roll back its nuclear program, it will continue full-scale bombing. On Friday, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said the country was not paying attention to “deadlines”, according to state-run IRNA.

Diplomacy continues. Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif He said his country was in contact “day and night” with the United States and Iran with the aim of extending the ceasefire and reaching a peace agreement.

Russia’s foreign ministry said it, as well as Saudi Arabia, had called for diplomatic efforts to reach a “sustainable, long-term agreement” to end the war.

Separately, Putin told reporters in Moscow: Enriched uranium from Iran helping negotiate a deal would allow everyone to see “how much there is and where it is,” and “all of this will be put under the control of the IAEA, the UN nuclear watchdog.”

According to the information in the telephone conversation between the two foreign ministers, senior diplomats from Egypt and Qatar reiterated that diplomacy is the only way to a solution.

Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is a person who is still unseen and unheard in public since the start of the war. This fuels speculation about his status.

On Friday, a senior Iranian official said Khamenei was in “full health” and would eventually appear in public. Mazaher Hosseini, attached to his office The late religious leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khameneiwho was killed at the start of the war, made the comment at a pro-government gathering. Hosseini said Khamenei’s son Mojtaba was injured in his knee and back in the opening attacks of the war but has largely recovered.

Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.