President Trump rejected Iranian claims that the Strait of Hormuz was closed, after a night of intense strikes with Iran. “Yeah, it’s open. We bombed the hell out of them last night,” he told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
A fresh round of attacks by the U.S. on Sunday was the latest volley in a familiar pattern of back-and-forth strikes fueled by disputes over the Strait of Hormuz.
The United States was carrying out another round of strikes on Iranian targets early Monday morning local time, the U.S. military said, extending a pattern of attacks between the two sides as their fragile cease-fire continued to unravel. It was the second volley of U.S. attacks in a matter of hours that were intended to stymie Iran’s ability to attack commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
The strait, which has long been vital to the global energy trade, is at the center of a tug of war between the two countries that has been playing out since they agreed to a tentative truce last month. Both nations have traded fire and recriminations, accusing the other of violating the terms of the cease-fire and leaving the region suspended between war and peace.
Iranian state media reported that tonight’s U.S. strikes have also targeted central and western Iran, including areas far from the Strait of Hormuz. An official in Ahvaz said two locations in the southwestern city were targeted, Iran’s PressTV reported, and a regional official confirmed a separate U.S. strike on the city of Khondab.
A number of cities in the province of Khuzestan, which sits at the northern end of the Persian Gulf, were also targeted. The province’s deputy governor told state media that in addition to Ahvaz, the cities of Omidieh, Mahshahr, Behbahan, Dezful, Andimeshk and Abadan were targeted.
Oil Rises After Weekend of Back-and-Forth Strikes by U.S. and Iran
The continued cycle of attacks between Iran and the United States in the Persian Gulf posed fresh risks to ships seeking to navigate the Strait of Hormuz, testing markets on Sunday.
Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, opened about 3.5 percent higher on Sunday, to nearly $79 a barrel. That is up nearly 9 percent from its prewar price.
According to initial reports from Iran’s state media, among the targets of tonight’s U.S. strikes was a telecommunications tower near the village of Tahroi in Sirik, Hormozgan Province, which abuts the Strait of Hormuz. There were no reported civilian casualties or damage to residential or commercial infrastructure, the regional government said.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps “fired at commercial shipping transiting the Strait of Hormuz” within the last hour, according to Capt. Tim Hawkins, a U.S. Central Command spokesman. “U.S. aircraft have successfully shot down an Iranian cruise missile and one-way attack drone so far,” he said in a text message on Sunday, adding that Tehran’s attack demonstrated the need for the U.S. offensive.
A U.S. official said to expect a “bigger” wave of American attacks against Iranian military targets on Sunday night than the strikes earlier in the day.
U.S. Central Command said it began launching fresh strikes on Iran about 30 minutes ago, saying they were aimed at degrading Tehran’s ability to carry out attacks in the Strait of Hormuz. The latest strikes appear to be at least the second time the U.S. bombed Iran on Sunday — a U.S. official said the United States had carried out a round of attacks earlier in the day with the same purpose.
Oman summoned Iran’s ambassador over drone strikes
Oman summoned Iran’s ambassador to the country on Sunday to express “profound dismay” over drone strikes that had targeted sites along the Strait of Hormuz, according to Oman’s official state news agency. Oman called on Iran to adhere to principles of “good neighborliness,” condemning the attacks as “irresponsible.”
Iran and Oman are located along opposite sides of the Strait of Hormuz and are in talks over manangement of the vital waterway as part of a U.S.-Iran agreement signed last month to pause hostilities and end a chokehold on shipping there. On Sunday, Esmaeil Baqaei, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, said that the foreign ministers of Iran and Oman had met in the Omani capital of Muscat the day before and had agreed to continue negotiations on shipping through the strait, Iran’s state media reported.
10 projectiles had struck Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz
Iranian state media reported that roughly 10 projectiles had struck Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the island’s governor. Iranian officials said all of the sites that had been hit were military targets and reported no casualties.
New York Times
