US and Iran exchange strikes as Tehran again says strait of Hormuz is closed | Iran
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Sunday it was closing the Strait of Hormuz after a ship passed through an unapproved route and was hit, warning that any retaliation over the incident would be met with a “strong response”.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy said in a statement, without giving any details about the ship, “A ship that endangered maritime security by shutting down its systems was hit and stopped.”
U.S. Central Command said shortly thereafter that its forces began a third round of strikes against Iran. “The United States is imposing a heavy cost on Iran by continuing to weaken its ability to attack civilian sailors and commercial ships passing freely through the strait,” the military said.
A Cyprus-flagged container ship hit by Iran suffered “significant engine room damage” and a civilian crew member was missing, US Central Command said.
In the statement made by Iran, it was stated that many ships tried to pass through the waterway on an “unauthorized route” and did not take into account warnings to correct their routes. The IRGC said the strait was closed “until further notice” and until “U.S. involvement in this area ceases.” The Navy said that offensive actions against Iran “will be met with a harsh response and new enemy bases in the region will be targeted.”
The latest incident occurred during efforts to discuss the fate of the strait in Oman. According to a statement from Tehran, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi met with his Omani counterpart Sayyed Badr Albusaidi to “exchange views on appropriate mechanisms for the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.”
A senior Iranian source told Reuters that Iran, the United States, Qatar and Pakistan had agreed to negotiate on a call that mediators were trying to arrange for Saturday, when Araqchi is in Oman. It was not immediately clear whether the efforts were successful.
The latest diplomatic moves follow an exchange of rhetoric between Tehran and Washington. Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei vowed on Saturday to avenge the killing of his father and predecessor, hours after US President Donald Trump threatened severe retaliation if any attempt was made on his life.
“Revenge is the will of our nation and must inevitably be fulfilled,” new religious leader Mojtaba Khamenei said in a written message. In his first message since his father’s funeral this week, he wrote: “This issue does not depend on my personal existence nor on the presence of other authorities. This will happen whether we are or not.” He said Iran had prepared a list of people to target.
Both sides exchanged fire earlier this week, shaking up an interim agreement aimed at ending a war that began in late February with major US-Israeli strikes that led to the killing of then-supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
Trump has declared the ceasefire over, leaving the door open for negotiations, and mediators are trying to find a diplomatic solution; Iranian media reported that a delegation from Qatar went to Iran on Friday.
Hours earlier, Trump had shared on the Truth Social platform that any assassination attempt against him would lead to the US “completely destroying” Iran.
“1,000 missiles are locked, loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran; if the Iranian government acts on the threat voiced in many corners of the world to assassinate or attempt to assassinate the sitting President of the United States, in this case ME, thousands more will immediately follow!” he wrote.
News outlets Axios and Politico reported that Washington gave Tehran until Saturday to stop firing on commercial ships passing through Hormuz and acknowledge that the waterway is open.
With Agence France-Presse and Reuters
