Dubai (AFP) – Iran and US forces traded new military attacks Tuesday, with Tehran warning of “more decisive and powerful” strikes ahead as the conflict threatened to widen with a blockade of Saudi ports by Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Here are the latest developments on Wednesday:
– **Rubio warns of ‘dangerous precedent’ over Hormuz**
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Southeast Asian foreign ministers on Wednesday that Iranian control of the Strait of Hormuz would set a dangerous precedent with repercussions beyond the Middle East. “If we create a precedent in the Middle East where a nation-state can decide to control an international waterway, charge a toll and blow up your ships if you don’t pay, we have created a very dangerous precedent that will repeat itself in other parts of the world, including this region,” Rubio told envoys at a Manila gathering of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). He added that the United States remains “open” to diplomacy with Iran but that Tehran is not “serious”.
– **New US attacks on Iran**
US Central Command said Tuesday it had completed an 11th consecutive night of strikes on military targets in Iran as the Middle East war intensified. US forces targeted military infrastructure to “further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” CENTCOM posted on X.
– **Trump vows to help Lebanon**
US President Donald Trump met his Lebanese counterpart Joseph Aoun at the White House, where he vowed to support the country with disarming Iran-backed Hezbollah and forging a lasting peace with Israel. “President Aoun stressed the urgent need for a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory,” according to a readout of the meeting from the Lebanese presidency. After the talks, Trump said he would authorize the resumption of direct flights by US airlines to Lebanon, which have been suspended since the 1985 hijacking by Lebanese Islamist militants of a TWA flight with many Americans aboard.
– **War cost US $37.5 billion**
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Iran war has cost the United States $37.5 billion so far, up from a previous estimate of nearly $29 billion in mid-May. “The estimate we have as of today is $37.5 billion,” Hegseth told lawmakers during a congressional hearing Tuesday where he defended a request for $67 billion in supplemental funding for the Pentagon.
– **Trump ‘not finished’ with Iran**
Trump said the United States will continue attacks on Iran, while forecasting it would take the Islamic republic two decades or more to rebuild from current damage. “If we left right now, it would take Iran 20, 25 years to rebuild. Okay, and we’re not finished at all…we’re not leaving right now,” he told reporters during his meeting with Lebanon’s Aoun.
– **Trump warns Houthis**
Trump said he would “take care of” the Houthi rebels if the Iran-backed militant group follows through on its threatened blockade of Saudi ports. “If something like that happens, we take care of it,” Trump told reporters.
– **Pakistan PM urges restraint**
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called for restraint from all warring sides during a meeting with Iran’s interior minister. Sharif “urged all sides to exercise restraint and refrain from actions that could further destabilize the region,” a statement from his office said, adding that he told Iran’s Eskandar Momeni that Pakistan would continue to act as a mediator.
– **Kuwait slams Iranian attacks**
Kuwait said Iran hit several power and water desalination plants Monday, causing fires in the fourth such attack in as many days.
– **Bahrain says intercepts Iran strikes**
Bahrain sounded sirens as the country’s military had said it intercepted the latest of a spate of Iranian attacks on the Gulf kingdom. “The siren has been sounded, Citizens and residents are urged to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place,” the interior ministry said in a statement on X.
– **Iran stops tankers in Hormuz**
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they stopped two “non-compliant oil tankers” attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz, after “explosions caused extensive fires aboard them,” state news agency IRNA reported.
© 2024 AFP
