Washington [US] / Tehran [Iran], July 14: US and Iranian forces have exchanged heavy missile and drone assaults, with Tehran targeting US facilities in states across the Gulf on Sunday and saying it had again closed the vital Strait of Hormuz.
The strikes were the latest in a cycle of attacks and counter-attacks as Iran seeks to assert control over shipping through the strait. However, the barrage marked an escalation in pace and range.
The strikes extended to Qatar, a mediator in ceasefire talks that had not come under attack since April, while the United Arab Emirates, which had not been targeted since early May, said its air defenses had engaged missiles and drones from Iran.
On Sunday afternoon, Iranian media said there had been missile attacks and explosions around the port of Bandar Abbas, home to military facilities on the strait, and nearby Qeshm Island, as the US reportedly launched another round of attacks and Iran targeted Kuwait.
The renewed violence casts further doubt on the future of an interim US-Iranian agreement signed last month that aimed to reopen the strait and end the war after a further 60 days of negotiations.
In the past week, US President Donald Trump has said he considers the ceasefire over, while leaving the door open to more talks.
The war that the US and Israel launched against Iran on February 28 has destabilised the Gulf, where Iran has struck countries hosting US bases. Iran's effective blockade of the strait has driven energy prices higher, fuelling global inflation.
Higher prices, especially for gasoline, are politically sensitive for Trump ahead of November's congressional elections.
Iran has sought to establish a permanent system for collecting fees in the strait, which carried one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before the war, and has warned vessels not to sail without its authorisation.
It said late on Saturday it had closed the waterway after firing a warning shot that struck a vessel travelling on an unauthorised route. On Sunday, it said it had disabled a second vessel.
India said one of its nationals was missing after an attack on the container ship GFS Galaxy off the coast of Oman. Oman said 23 crew members had been rescued. Qatar advised all vessels, including leisure boats, fishing boats and jet skis, to suspend activities.
Iran's recently created Persian Gulf Strait Authority said on Sunday that passage through the strait was not currently possible due to "recent illegal movements of the United States military forces in the region". Permits would be issued "as soon as stability and calm are restored," it said.
The US, which revoked the licence authorising the sale of Iranian crude on Tuesday following earlier attacks on shipping, said its forces were positioned to safeguard freedom of navigation despite what it described as "aggression, harassment, threats, and arbitrary declarations" from Iran.
"Iran does not control the strait. Traffic is flowing," it said.
The US Navy-led Joint Maritime Information Center reiterated guidance that, despite a severe security threat, an "expanded" southern route near Oman was available for two-way traffic.
On Saturday, US Central Command said US forces had hit 140 Iranian military targets, and that more than 300 had been struck over three nights this week "to degrade Iran's ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial vessels freely transiting the strait."
Iranian state media reported explosions in several port cities and said an Iranian army officer had been killed.
In response, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had destroyed a command-and-control centre and drone hangars in US ally Jordan, targeted a US radar site and later rocket launcher systems in Kuwait, attacked US aircraft carrier support and refueling platforms in Oman and destroyed a jet maintenance centre and command facility in Qatar.
The UAE said it detected missile threats outside its borders, Bahrain said it intercepted several Iranian aerial attacks, Jordan reported missile strikes and Oman reported being targeted with drones. Kuwait's army later reported damage from strikes, and said an attack on an oil drilling platform injured a worker.
Oman said it had summoned Iran's ambassador to protest over drone attacks in two regions and the US embassy in Oman told its nationals in Duqm and Musandam to shelter in place. The latest round of hostilities came after talks in Oman on Saturday between Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi. Iran said the talks were aimed at coordinating arrangements in the Strait of Hormuz, and were set to continue with a Qatari presence.
Araqchi later discussed regional developments in a phone call with Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, whose country has been a key mediator between the US and Iran, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
Meanwhile, Iran's top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf posted on X on Sunday: "The era of one-sided deals is OVER. We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking."
Source: Qatar Tribune
