Tehran (AFP) – Iran attacked American bases in Jordan and Bahrain on Wednesday, warning its Gulf neighbours that they had a “responsibility” to stop the United States and Israel from using their territory to strike the Islamic republic. The strikes came after the US carried out attacks on Iran in response to the downing of an American helicopter, straining a ceasefire that took effect in April. The exchange drew international calls for restraint on the eve of the World Cup, which the US is co-hosting and Iran is participating in. It has also cast doubt on US President Donald Trump’s claim that negotiations on an enduring settlement to end the Middle East war were in their “final throes”.
The conflict, which began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, threw the region into chaos and rattled global markets before the shaky truce began. In Bahrain, an AFP correspondent in the capital Manama said several loud explosions could be heard, as Iran’s Guards said they had struck a US base there. Iranian forces also fired “long-range missiles” at US targets in Jordan, the Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday. Jordan’s military said it shot down five missiles, with no casualties or material damage, while Bahrain said it intercepted and destroyed “a number of Iranian aerial attacks”. Elsewhere, the Kuwaiti military said its air defences were engaging “hostile aerial targets”. Iran has recently carried out deadly attacks there too.
Iran’s foreign ministry “reiterated the legal and moral responsibility of all countries in the region (especially those located along the southern shores of the Persian Gulf) to prevent the US military and Israel from using their territory or facilities to plan, organise, execute, or support hostile actions against Iran”. The developments came after the US military said it had “completed” what Trump portrayed as a retaliatory assault on Iran over the downing of an Apache attack helicopter. US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees American forces in the Middle East, said on X that it had “struck Iranian air defense, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz”. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had earlier threatened payback, saying that his country’s military would “leave no attack or threat unanswered”.
Calls for restraint followed the flare-up, with Iranian allies Russia and China expressing concern over the new round of US-Iranian armed confrontation. A Russian foreign ministry spokesperson urged “both sides to exercise restraint”, while a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry called on the warring parties to “stop intensifying the conflict and escalating the situation, (and) take concrete measures to ease and cool down tensions”. Hours earlier, Trump had stated that talks to end the three-month-long war were in their final stages — a claim he has made repeatedly in the past few weeks. When asked whether it would be a matter of days or weeks, the US leader indicated it would take “two or three days”. However, following the downing of the helicopter on Monday, Trump mentioned in a telephone interview with ABC News that the United States was responding “in a strong manner”.
The ceasefire had already faced a serious test over the weekend when Iran and Israel briefly resumed their attacks before later announcing a halt. Iran has insisted that any deal to end the war must include a truce in Lebanon, which was drawn into the conflict when Iran-backed Hezbollah militants within its borders fired rockets at Israel on March 2. Israel responded with a campaign of airstrikes and a ground invasion that has killed more than 3,600 people. Exchanges of fire with Hezbollah have not stopped despite a nominal truce. Lebanese officials said 11 people were killed in airstrikes on the southern city of Tyre on Tuesday. The Israeli military also warned the entire city to evacuate. An AFP correspondent saw residents of Tyre, including from the Christian quarter, fleeing and heavy traffic heading north after the Israeli warning. Another correspondent in the coastal city of Sidon, further north, saw displaced people arriving from Tyre, some with belongings strapped to the roofs of their cars.
The renewed fighting has overshadowed efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the critical waterway for global fuel supplies that Iran has blockaded since the start of the war. Crude prices rose one percent on Wednesday amid dimming prospects of a deal, having fallen as much as five percent at one point the previous day on optimism an agreement would be reached. On Tuesday, Araghchi urged foreign forces to leave the strait and surrounding areas, warning that they faced a risk of being caught in the crossfire if they remained. “Foreign forces in proximity to our territory are at constant risk…(the) best solution is for them to leave,” he said. The Apache helicopter is the second crewed aircraft that Washington has confirmed was shot down by Iran during the war, following the loss of an F-15 fighter plane in April. CENTCOM said the two crew members were rescued after the helicopter went down near the coast of Oman.
© 2024 AFP
