Heavy missile and drone exchanges escalate across the Gulf as Strait of Hormuz remains closed
Steve Holland And Parisa Hafezi
Washington/Dubai: The US military began launching more strikes against Iran on Monday, following a weekend of heavy exchanges of missile and drone strikes.
The latest US attack began at around 7am (AEST) on Monday morning, “to continue the humiliation”, US Central Command said in a statement on social media platform X. [Iran’s] The ability to attack civilian sailors and merchant ships passing freely through the Strait of Hormuz”.
US and Iranian forces spent the weekend launching heavy missile and drone strikes; Tehran targeted US facilities in Gulf states on Sunday and said it was once again closing the vital Strait of Hormuz.
The attacks were the latest in a cycle of attacks and counter-attacks in which Iran has sought to gain control over shipping passing through the strait. But the barrage marked an increase in speed and range.
The weekend attacks expanded to include Qatar, which is mediating ceasefire talks that has not been attacked since April, while the United Arab Emirates, which has not been targeted since early May, said its air defenses had attacked missiles and drones from Iran.
US President Donald Trump touched on US attacks on Iran over the weekend in a brief telephone interview with Reuters on Sunday afternoon. “We beat them,” he said.
Iranian media said Sunday that missile attacks and explosions occurred around the port of Bandar Abbas and the nearby island of Qeshm, where military facilities in the strait are located. The renewed violence casts further doubt on the future of the interim US-Iran agreement signed last month, which aims to reopen the strait and end the war after 60 days of negotiations.
Last week, Trump said he thought the ceasefire was over but left the door open to further talks.
The war launched by the USA and Israel against Iran on February 28 disrupted the stability in the Gulf, where Iran attacked the countries hosting US bases. Iran’s effective blockade of the strait has increased global inflation by raising energy prices.
Increasing prices, especially in gasoline, is a politically sensitive situation for Trump ahead of the congressional elections in November.
Before the war, Iran tried to establish a permanent system for fee collection in the strait, which carries one fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments, and warned ships not to sail without its permission.
It was said to have blocked the waterway late on Saturday after firing a warning shot at a ship traveling on an unauthorized route. It said it disabled a second ship on Sunday.
India announced that one of its citizens went missing following the attack on the GFS Galaxy container ship off the coast of Oman. Oman said 23 crew members were rescued. Qatar has advised all vessels, including pleasure boats, fishing boats and jet skis, to suspend their operations.
Iran’s recently created Persian Gulf Strait Authority said on Sunday that passage through the strait is not currently possible due to “recent illegal movements of US military forces in the region.” It was stated that the permits would be given “as soon as stability and tranquility are achieved”.
The United States, which revoked a license allowing the sale of Iranian crude on Tuesday following earlier attacks on shipping, said its forces were in a position to protect freedom of navigation despite what it described as Iran’s “aggression, harassment, threats and arbitrary declarations.”
The USA said, “Iran does not control the strait. Traffic is flowing.”
The US Navy-led Joint Maritime Information Center reiterated its guidance that an “expanded” southern route near Oman is available for two-way traffic despite a serious security threat.
On Saturday, U.S. Central Command said American forces hit 140 Iranian military targets and more than 300 targets were hit over three nights last week “to undermine Iran’s ability to attack civilian sailors and commercial ships freely passing through the strait.”
Iranian state media reported explosions in several port cities and reported that an Iranian officer was killed.
In response to the US attacks, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said they destroyed a command and control center and drone hangars in US-allied Jordan, targeted an American radar site and rocket launcher systems in Kuwait, attacked US aircraft carrier support and refueling platforms in Oman, and destroyed a jet maintenance center and command facility in Qatar.
Qatar, which had previously said it would not mediate as long as it was under attack, said three people, including a child, were injured as a result of shrapnel falling. It was stated that Iran was “fully legally responsible” for the attack.
The UAE said it had detected missile threats outside its borders, Bahrain said it had foiled multiple Iranian airstrikes, Jordan reported missile strikes and Oman reported being targeted with drones. The Kuwaiti military later reported damage from the attacks and said one worker was injured in an attack on an oil rig.
Oman said it summoned Iran’s ambassador to protest drone attacks in the two regions. The US embassy in Oman told its citizens in Duqm and Musandam to shelter in place.
Meanwhile, Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf shared on X on Sunday: “The era of unilateral agreements is over. We told you: Keep your word or pay the price. The truth is knocking on the door.”
Reuters
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