Iran Strikes Again As Tensions Resurface In Middle East
Iran launched fresh strikes in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday as tensions escalated again in the Middle East threatening a fragile ceasefire agreement reached between Washington and Tehran earlier this month.
Iran’s drone assault targeting Bahrain and a ship in the Strait of Hormuz separately are seen as a response to overnight airstrikes by the US forces, AP reported.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center reported an attack on a vessel Saturday in Hormuz Strait. No one has claimed ownership of the strike though the needle of suspicion falls on Iran in the aftermath of renewed strikes in the region. The crew was safe and there was no environmental damage, it said.
On Friday, US President Donald Trump accused Iran of committing a “foolish violation” of the ceasefire agreement after Tehran allegedly launched four one-way attack drones at commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump alleged that Iran’s military “shot at least four One Way Attack Drones at Ships transversing the Strait of Hormuz.”
The US had launched its airstrikes in response to the Iranian drone attack on a ship trying to exit the strait on Thursday.
After the attack on the ship was reported, the Joint Maritime Information Center, which is overseen by the US Navy, said the route near Oman’s shores is expanding to allow for both inbound and outbound shipping traffic, in a move seen as a provocation for Iran.
Tehran remains adamant that vessels passing the Strait must follow its instructions. It seeks to start charging a transit fees for passage through the Hormuz Strait. The US has repeatedly said shipping traffic should not be charged.
The Strait of Hormuz has emerged as a contentious flashpoint ever since the Middle East conflict erupted in February following the US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Tehran has shut down the choke point multiple times, sending energy prices soaring during the conflict. A fifth of the global energy supplies passed through the Strait before the conflict.
Iran claimed its drone strikes Saturday on Bahrain were on targets linked to US forces on and as a retaliatory act against Washington’s airstrikes on its southern coast, Reuters reported.
The US and Iran have accused each other of violating last week’s agreement, aimed at bringing an end to the war that dragged on to more than 100 days.
A statement from Iran’s foreign ministry did not specify the locations in which the attacks were carried out. Iran has said it targeted several locations “of the U.S. terrorist army in the region.” The US strikes were reportedly targeted at Iran’s coastal surveillance facilities.
Bahrain had been repeatedly targeted by Iran during the conflict, as Tehran sees it as a rival. Tehran’s anger also stems from it harbouring the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had on Thursday warned at a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) meeting in Bahrain against ” Iranian tolls on ships traversing the Strait of Hormuz.”
“International waterways do not belong to any nation-state,” Rubio had said.
Bahrain’s foreign ministry said a “number of Iranian drones” targeted the country, and termed the strikes as “a flagrant threat to the security of citizens and residents.”
The US military’s Central Command said the military struck Iranian missile and drone locations and coastal radar sites in the overnight strikes.
US Vice President JD Vance, who was the lead US negotiator in talks with Iran, said Tehran should “pick up the phone” in case of disagreements about the ceasefire agreement, adding “violence will be met with violence.”
The US and Iran are still negotiating terms of the ceasefire. The talks are centered around passage of ships through Hormuz strait and Iran’s contentious nuclear program.
