Dubai, July 14: The US launched strikes on Iran early Tuesday, hours after President Donald Trump vowed to reinstate an American blockade of Iranian ports and charge ships for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran responded with attacks on Middle East allies of the US. This threatens an interim deal meant to reopen a strait that is a crucial passage for the world’s energy supplies, and give negotiators time to hammer out a permanent end to the war. Instead, fighting has engulfed the region again. Unless a diplomatic solution is found quickly, it could intensify into all-out war.
The focus of the conflict now is the strait of Hormuz. Iran effectively shut the passage during the war by attacking and threatening ships, a tactic that proved its greatest strategic advantage since it sent the price of oil, fertiliser and other goods soaring at a time when world leaders were already struggling to address a rising cost of living.
Attacks resume across the Mideast
The US military’s Central Command said it struck several areas in Iran, targeting “coastal defence systems, missile and drone sites and maritime capabilities.” Iran acknowledged the strikes, but provided no immediate casualty or damage assessments.
“These strikes will continue imposing a heavy cost on Iranian forces and degrade their ability to attack innocent civilians and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” the US military said. Moments after the military announced the new strikes, Trump called it “another major attack” and said the US was “putting the blockade back.” Iran responded with attacks targeting Bahrain, Jordan and three tankers that travelled through the strait.
Two ships were associated with the United Arab Emirates and were set ablaze. The Emirati Defence Ministry said the attack on the tankers Mombasa and Al Bahiyah killed one mariner and wounded eight others. The Emirates threatened to retaliate.
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed the attack on the two tankers, saying the vessels “ignored repeated warnings.” Iran has targeted ships that use a route through the strait that passes near Oman outside of its territorial waters. The Dutch shipping firm Stolt Tankers said that one of its ships was attacked off Oman in the Arabian Sea, around the time the other two vessels were hit. The attack sparked a fire in the Stolt Magnesium’s engine room, but the company said all the mariners aboard were safe and accounted for.
Bahrain was attacked early Tuesday morning as Iran retaliated over US airstrikes. Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet, sounded its missile alert sirens three times, urging people to seek shelter. Jordan’s military said it intercepted four missiles from Iran. Jordan hosts US forces and has come under attack by Tehran in recent days.
Interim deal is in peril
Exchanges of fire in recent days already cast doubt on the interim peace deal, now almost halfway through the 60-day period, the deal was also meant to address Iran’s disputed nuclear programme and other issues. But Trump’s vow to impose a blockade further imperils it. Washington lifted a blockade it imposed in mid-April as part of the deal. (AP)
