Tehran (AFP) – Iran is fighting a “full-scale war” with the United States, its president said Monday, as Washington expanded its strikes across the Islamic republic. The declaration came as Tehran’s Yemeni allies, the Houthi rebels, threatened to broaden the war even further by announcing they would blockade Saudi ports, putting at risk Riyadh’s ability to bypass the Strait of Hormuz for some of its oil exports.
Throughout the war, which began in late February, Iran has hit countries across the region, saying it was targeting US assets, with the Revolutionary Guards saying on Monday they hit sites in Bahrain, Jordan, and Syria. But the Houthis have remained on the sidelines until now. “The reality is that today the Islamic Republic of Iran is engaged in a full-scale war,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said, according to a presidency statement. His comments came after state media and local authorities reported US strikes on Monday in the north and centre of the country.
The Middle East war resumed after an April ceasefire and a June framework deal, with oil prices surging to a one-month high as the foes battled to control the vital Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of world oil traveled in peacetime. As its truce with the US collapsed, Tehran reimposed its blockade of the waterway, while Washington hit back by again counter-blockading Iran’s ports.
– Red Sea threat –
Saudi Arabia has been able to continue exporting millions of barrels of oil a day despite the Hormuz blockade — although far below its pre-war totals — via its Red Sea port of Yanbu. Oil markets have for months feared that the Houthis would return to attacking shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, as they did during the Gaza war, potentially cutting off yet more crude from global markets. The Houthis, who have been at war with Riyadh for over a decade, have not said how they will enforce their blockade. Riyadh and the Houthis exchanged fire for the first time in years last week, as their frozen conflict reignited over a dispute involving Iran.
In Hormuz, meanwhile, sailors abandoned a vessel set on fire in an attack, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency. The Revolutionary Guards had earlier said two oil tankers trying to transit the strait “exploded and were brought to a halt,” according to a statement reported by Tasnim news agency. UKMTO later reported another vessel was struck near the strait, off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, with the crew reported safe. Separately, Iran’s Fars news agency said residents of the southern city of Shiraz heard the sounds of blasts. It said initial reports indicated it was an aerial attack, which would mark the first on the city.
– Diplomatic exchanges –
The fresh fighting came after a weekend in which the US announced three new military fatalities and one service member missing in action. Two were killed during Iranian missile and drone attacks on Jordan on Friday, while another service member was killed in northern Iraq during the controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian drone, CENTCOM said. US President Donald Trump on Monday warned on his Truth Social platform: “Every time Iran kills an American Soldier they will pay for that killing many times over!” The deaths brought to 17 the confirmed number of US military fatalities since the conflict began.
On Friday, Iran’s health ministry reported that 50 people had been killed in recent fighting and more than 500 wounded. Despite the latest attacks, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said diplomatic exchanges with the US via mediators were ongoing. “Ideas have been conveyed to us by certain mediators,” he said. Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni was set to travel to mediator Pakistan’s capital on Monday, a Pakistani interior ministry source told AFP, without confirming the reason.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced on Monday that they had hit targets in Syria, Jordan, and Kuwait overnight. Kuwait’s military said on Monday afternoon it was responding to fresh missile and drone attacks. Air raid sirens went off in Bahrain, authorities said. Jordan’s army later said it had intercepted three missiles, after sirens sounded in the kingdom.
© 2024 AFP
