US forces disabled the Comoros-flagged M/T Lavine in the Gulf of Oman after the ship attempted to run the blockade
Iran steps up retaliatory strikes against US allies Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan
IRBIL, Iraq: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Saturday their forces stopped four ships attempting to transit the strategic Strait of Hormuz over the past 24 hours, while the US military said it fired on another merchant vessel that was trying to breach its blockade of Iran’s ports.
“Four vessels that had intended to transit through the southern area of the Strait of Hormuz via an illegal and unsafe route were stopped over the past 24 hours after warning shots were fired by the IRGC Navy,” the Guards said in a statement quoted by state television, adding that the ships had “altered course.”
Iran has in recent weeks hit tankers using a route hugging the Omani coast to traverse the strait, in a bid to strongarm vessels into using its own waters and pay for safe passage.
Meanwhile, the Islamic targeted American strongholds around the Arabian Gulf.
The US and Iran showed no sign of backing away from their conflict after a 13th straight night of strikes. With fighting flaring again and diplomacy uncertain, both sides made moves suggesting an escalation was possible. US embassies in the Middle East began alerting Americans in the region that options to leave could become more limited, while Iran’s Revolutionary Guard advised residents of neighboring countries to stay away from bases with US troops.
Saudi Arabia struck the port city of Hodeida in Yemen in response to Iranian-backed Houthi rebel attacks on Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said early Saturday. The Houthis said they would escalate after tensions have been brewing for weeks, breaking a yearslong calm.
American forces disabled the Comoros-flagged M/T Lavine in the Gulf of Oman after the ship attempted to run the blockade at least four times, Capt. Tim Hawkins, US Central Command spokesman, told The Associated Press. Hawkins stressed that the ship’s crew was warned and didn’t comply with commands. The military then fired into its engine room. It’s the second commercial ship to be disabled since the military reimposed its blockade.
Earlier on Friday, US President Donald Trump met with top national security aides to discuss the situation with Iran and whether the administration should maintain the current course or escalate military attacks, according to a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. It was not immediately clear if any decisions were made at the meeting, which was earlier reported by The New York Times. The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
In an event in the Oval Office on Friday, Trump described negotiations with Iran as “by far the most serious that we’ve seen,” even as the US has launched daily strikes. Trump added that he’s “not in a hurry” to end the war.
Vowing that Iran “will not bow to US” bullying, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi noted ongoing discussions with two global powers often at odds with Americans — China and Russia — and warned in an interview with the semiofficial news outlet Tasnim that the Islamic Republic is “neither intimidated by threats nor will we yield to pressure.”
At the center of the fight is the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial passage for world energy supplies that has been effectively shut down by Iranian attacks, sending fuel prices soaring and causing widespread economic turmoil. Arab news
