US-Iran War Intensifies : Tehran Launches Attacks Across Gulf After US Strikes
Tehran : The United States and Iran edged closer to a wider regional conflict on Sunday as American forces launched a fresh wave of strikes on Iranian military targets around the Strait of Hormuz. Citing a senior US official, the US military targeted Iranian missile launchers, air defence systems and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) speedboats at multiple locations near the strategic waterway.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported that a US strike on a water pumping station in Mahshahr killed one person and injured four others. It also said a maintenance worker was killed and two colleagues wounded during separate strikes in Hormozgan province. US Central Command (CENTCOM) said American forces also intercepted and destroyed an Iranian cruise missile and a one-way attack drone during the operation.
CENTCOM said the operation was ordered by Trump to degrade Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping and ensure freedom of navigation through one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints. The Strait of Hormuz has become the central flashpoint in the conflict. Washington says Iran’s attempts to tighten control over the waterway threaten global energy supplies and international trade, while setting a dangerous precedent for other strategic sea lanes.
Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority, created earlier this year to regulate shipping through the strait, announced that vessels would not be permitted to transit because of what it described as the “recent illegal movements” of US military forces in the region. The IRGC claimed responsibility for attacks on command-and-control facilities and drone hangars in Jordan, a US radar site and HIMARS missile launchers in Kuwait, aircraft carrier support infrastructure in Oman, and a jet maintenance facility and command centre in Qatar.
Elsewhere, the United Arab Emirates said its air defences intercepted missiles and drones outside its borders. Bahrain reported shooting down several Iranian aerial threats, Jordan confirmed missile strikes on its territory, and Oman said parts of the country had also been targeted by drones. Trump has since declared the ceasefire effectively over, while maintaining that Washington remains open to future negotiations.
The renewed hostilities came just a day after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi in Muscat for talks focused on the future of the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran said the discussions would continue with Qatari participation. Araghchi also spoke with Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, whose government has been acting as a key intermediary between Washington and Tehran.