US hit Iran ‘very hard’: Trump
“We hit them very hard last night,” US President Donald Trump told CNN by telephone after US strikes in response to Iran’s latest attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
He said the United States and Iran had been close to “a deal” on Saturday. “They were giving up everything, and then all of a sudden, two hours after that, they hit a ship with a drone. These people, there is something wrong with them,” he said.
Hormuz traffic ‘flowing’: US
The US military insisted Sunday that ships are moving through the Strait of Hormuz despite Iran’s claim to have closed it in the latest flare-up of the Mideast war.
“Iran does not control the strait. Traffic is flowing,” CENTCOM, which oversees US forces in the Middle East, said on X.
In a later post, CENTCOM directly mentioned and challenged an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps statement that the vital conduit for global oil flow was closing.
But the US military said the strait “remains an international waterway. US forces are positioned and prepared to keep it that way.”
As it announced the strait was closing, Iran also attacked US-allied Gulf neighbors in response to the latest series of US strikes on Iran, further endangering a deal that was supposed to halt the war while negotiators seek a definitive agreement to end it.
Oman summons Iranian ambassador
Oman issued a formal protest to the Iranian ambassador following an attack on the country, state media reported — a rare instance of the sultanate publicly accusing Tehran of targeting its territory.
Oman condemned the “irresponsible acts”, a day after hosting the Iranian foreign minister for talks on the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian soldier killed
US strikes overnight killed an Iranian navy lieutenant in the port of Jask in southern Iran, the Mehr and Tasnim news agencies said, citing a local official.
‘Dangerous escalation’
Qatar condemned the Iranian attacks against it and its neighbors, calling the barrage a “dangerous escalation” after three people were injured in the country.
The Strait of Hormuz Just Became Iran’s New Nuclear Weapon & Donald Trump Has No Answer: OPED
Hormuz ‘more important’ than atomic bombs
An adviser to Iran’s supreme leader said the Strait of Hormuz was more important than “dozens of atomic bombs”.
“This strategic passage is more important than dozens of atomic bombs, and the Islamic Republic of Iran will protect it,” Mohsen Rezaee was quoted by the ISNA news agency as saying. Western countries accuse Iran of seeking to create an atomic bomb, but Tehran has insisted its nuclear program is for peaceful, civilian purposes.
Indian missing
Oman said it had rescued 23 crew members from a commercial vessel after a strike early Sunday hit the vessel off its coast, forcing the crew to abandon ship.
India earlier said one of its nationals remained missing after the strike on the Cypriot-flagged GFS Galaxy, which the United States blamed on Iran.
Iran ‘warning shots’
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards had said earlier they struck and stopped a ship in the Strait of Hormuz for ignoring repeated instructions to use an approved route, calling the fire “warning shots”.
The US military’s Central Command said the vessel had been disabled by fire and damage to its engine room.
Jordan hit
Jordan’s army said three Iranian missiles had fallen “in several locations across the kingdom, without causing any casualties”.
Pakistan urges ‘restraint’
Pakistan’s top diplomat called for “de-escalation” and for all sides to “show restraint” during a phone call with his Iranian counterpart on Sunday, the foreign ministry said.
Gulf countries attacked
Air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain, while the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait said their air defenses were working to intercept attacks.
The Revolutionary Guards said they had also destroyed “the logistical support centers for naval vessels and the refueling facilities for US aircraft carriers at the port of Duqm in Oman”.
Iran strikes second vessel
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced they had hit a second vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, state TV network IRIB reported, adding they had also attacked a US base in Qatar.
US strikes 140 targets
CENTCOM said Saturday the US military had hit “approximately” 140 targets in Iran in retaliation for Tehran’s attack on another commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
The targets included missile and drone sites, naval capabilities, ammunition storage facilities, communication networks, and coastal surveillance locations, it said.
By Agence France-Presse
