Tensions are rising again in the Middle East. After last night's attacks, the US has again struck southern Iran, which has responded with drones and missiles against American bases in the Gulf , Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar.
The U.S. military struck approximately 90 "military targets" in Iran , including air defense systems, in its latest series of strikes, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced. "The United States has completed another series of strikes against Iran to further reduce Iran's ability to target merchant ships and innocent civilian sailors in the Strait of Hormuz," CENTCOM said in a statement on X.
Bridges on the roads leading to Mashhad, the city where former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei will be buried, were also hit . The Revolutionary Guards said this, specifying that the attacks involved "two bridges in the eastern provinces leading to the holy city of Mashhad." The Islamic Revolutionary Guards accused the US strikes of obscuring the "historic" funeral ceremony.
US strikes have killed 14 people and injured 78 others in two days, Iran's Health Ministry said, citing Al Jazeera. Tehran, the Qatari broadcaster writes, reported explosions in several Iranian cities along the Strait of Hormuz, including Bushehr, Chabahar, Bandar Abbas, and Sirik.
Tehran responded by striking Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait. Numerous explosions were heard in all three countries. "Our response will be devastating," the Pasdaran warned , adding that it will also extend to other bases in the region.
The Iranian military said that, "in continuation of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army's attacks on US bases in the region, it targeted a Patriot missile interception system in Kuwait, an early warning system in Qatar, and fuel tanks in Bahrain with various types of kamikaze drones."
Meanwhile, traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has again come to a near-complete standstill . Bloomberg reports that yesterday only 14 merchant ships passed through it in either direction, the lowest number since June 16, the day of the ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran. And today, traffic has almost completely stopped. Only a US-sanctioned supertanker leaving the Gulf and an Iranian-flagged container ship have been spotted passing through the strait.
"America has not yet learned that arrogance and disloyalty are no longer free. To be clear: try it, and you will pay the consequences," wrote Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of the Iranian parliament and Iran's chief negotiator in the negotiations with the United States, in a post on his X account. "Don't waste your energy, or you will sink even deeper," he added. "The Strait of Hormuz opens only with Iranian agreements, not with American threats."
"We hit Iran hard. We did it in retaliation for them hitting three ships," Donald Trump said aboard Air Force One, returning from the NATO summit. The US president emphasized that Tehran "very much" wants an agreement, "the problem is I don't know if they will honor it."
(Unioneonline)
