Pres. Donald Trump (Photo: Kyle Mazza/NurPhoto via AFP)
The US carried out renewed airstrikes on Iran on Wednesday to limit that country’s ability to threaten shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Pres. Meanwhile, Donald Trump has warned that he may expand the attacks if the Islamic Republic does not return to the negotiating table.
The US Central Command (Centcom) said the attacks began and were aimed at Iranian military capabilities used to threaten ships sailing through this strategic waterway.
The US military also said one of its planes fired on an empty oil tanker, putting it out of action after the vessel apparently tried to break the naval blockade of Iran’s ports.
Iranian state media reported explosions in several cities, including Bandar Abbas, Rask and Chabahar. Earlier, explosions were also reported at Qeshm and Bandar Imam Khomeini. Later, state media reported that renewed US strikes had hit Bushehr, home to Iran’s only civilian nuclear power plant.
Almost a month after the US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war in the Middle East, the two countries have started attacking each other again.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said it targeted the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. Air raid sirens went off in Bahrain as attacks on civilian targets were intercepted. Meanwhile, Jordan’s military said three Iranian missiles had been shot down.
In Iraq, Kurdish forces said the US-led coalition shot down eight drones carrying explosives over Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region. AFP journalists heard explosions and saw smoke near the US consulate. No casualties were reported.
“Next week it’s going to get really bad for them,” Trump told Fox News. He threatened to attack power plants and bridges if Iran did not return to negotiations.
Despite the renewed hostilities, the mediated talks between the two countries have not been formally ended.
However, Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, warned that “a memorandum of understanding has meaning only if its provisions are valid and implemented”.
“If Iran does not benefit from the memorandum of understanding, we have no reason to abide by it,” he said.
A recent photo of Pres. Donald Trump for illustration. (Photo: Photo by ALEX WONG / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP)
Strait of Hormoes becoming focal point
The Strait of Hormuz, through which a large part of the world’s oil and gas shipments take place, remains at the heart of the renewed conflict.
Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz after the war began on February 28 with US-Israeli attacks and has used the waterway for months to exert pressure.
The strait was briefly reopened after last month’s agreement between the US and Iran before Tehran announced last week that it would remain closed again “until the US ends its aggression”.
Traffic through the strait remained low. According to the maritime tracking company Kpler, only 21 ships sailed through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday. Oil prices rose again as the latest escalation disrupted one of the world’s most important energy routes.
Meanwhile, the US has also resumed its blockade of Iran’s ports, which Washington says was prompted by the oil tanker Belma who ignored repeated warnings.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the renewed US blockade “in a sense broke the Islamabad Memorandum”, referring to the interim agreement reached last month.