Tehran (AFP) – The United States and Iran traded strikes on Thursday for the second day running as Washington and Tehran battled over the strategic Strait of Hormuz. The vital oil shipping corridor is a flashpoint in the Middle East war, with Tehran insisting on control of the strait despite it being open to free passage before the US-Israeli attacks in February.
After the foes traded attacks on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said the ceasefire with Iran was “over,” but left the door open to more talks and added any strikes would end quickly. US forces said the latest attacks against Iran were aimed at “their ability to threaten the freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” citing recent strikes against commercial ships in the waterway. The US Central Command said they had struck approximately 90 military targets, including missile and drone storage as well as military logistics sites along Iran’s coastline. The strikes killed three people and wounded several others on the outskirts of Ahvaz in Iran’s southwest, the country’s official news agency IRNA reported, quoting an official.
Iran’s reprisals came quickly, with the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) saying they had struck “key infrastructure and facilities” at US bases in Arifjan and Ali Al Salem in Kuwait, and Juffair and Sheikh Isa in Bahrain. An AFP journalist heard blasts in Bahrain’s capital Manama, and Kuwait reported intercepting “hostile missile and drone attacks.” American strikes hit a railway bridge in Iran’s northeast, according to several official media, and IRNA reported strikes on a military base in coastal Bushehr, which hosts the nation’s only civilian nuclear power plant. Earlier, warplanes were heard over Iran’s Kish Island, and explosions rocked the port cities of Bandar Abbas, Konarak, and Chabahar, part of which lost electricity, IRNA reported.
“This is in retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday. “If it happens again, it will get much worse!” Late on Wednesday, while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said the Iranian side had “called a little while ago,” and that they wanted “to make a deal so badly.” Trump did not provide further details of the call — including who was on the line — but went on to cast doubt over the value of any deal, calling the Iranians “sort of crazy.”
Iran’s chief negotiator said Thursday that the Strait of Hormuz would be opened only under “Iranian arrangements.” “The United States still has not learned that bullying and breaking its promises no longer come without consequences,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on X. “Let me be clear: If you strike, you will be struck.” Since US-Israeli strikes triggered war in February, Tehran has insisted on controlling the strait, saying it will charge fees for passage and threatening to hit vessels that deviate from its authorised route. Its military struck at least three ships in recent days, prompting extensive US strikes against Iranian targets on Tuesday.
The latest strikes come just ahead of the Thursday burial of Ali Khamenei, Iran’s former supreme leader, who was killed at the outbreak of the war on February 28. UN chief Antonio Guterres called meanwhile “on all parties to exercise maximum restraint” — as did Pakistan, a key mediator in the US-Iran talks. Iran said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Qatar’s prime minister had spoken over the phone on Wednesday and “underscored the importance of using diplomatic means to resolve regional issues.” Both the United States and Iran said they had hit dozens of targets in the initial wave of attacks, which Iranian state television said had killed eight Iranian military personnel. CENTCOM said its forces struck more than 80 targets on Tuesday, while the Guards said they hit dozens of US military facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain. The latest attacks by Iran did not result in any American casualties or cause major damage to facilities, a US military official said on Wednesday.
Oman, which sits on the other side of Hormuz from Iran, condemned the targeting of Bahrain and Kuwait as well as the strikes on ships, but without blaming Iran. The former mediator has not blamed Iran for attacks throughout the war, in an effort to maintain its neutrality, which is being tested by talks with Tehran over the administration of Hormuz. Washington wants free passage for ships while Iran is insisting on fees and has refused to allow vessels to pass through Omani waters. All three vessels recently struck were sailing close to Oman, which had proposed a temporary transit corridor hugging its coastline. Maritime traffic had tentatively resumed after Washington and Tehran signed the deal to end hostilities last month. But almost 6,000 seafarers remain stranded in the area, International Maritime Organisation chief Arsenio Dominguez said Wednesday.
© 2024 AFP
