1
US and Iran exchange strikes as Tehran again says strait of Hormuz is closed
Pro-government demonstrators wave Iranian and religious flags in a gathering commemorating the late Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Saturday. Photograph: Vahid Salemi/AP View image in fullscreen Pro-government demonstrators wave Iranian and religious flags in a gathering commemorating the late Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Saturday. Photograph: Vahid Salemi/AP US and Iran exchange strikes as Tehran again says strait of Hormuz is closed Tehran says vessel using unapproved route in strait was struck, drawing strikes from US forces to ‘degrade Iran’s ability to attack civilian mariners’ Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Sunday it had closed the strait of Hormuz after a vessel travelled on an unapproved route and was struck, warning that any retaliation over the incident would be met with a “severe response”. “A vessel that had jeopardised maritime security by switching off its systems was struck and brought to a halt,” the navy of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement, without giving any details about the ship. US Central Command said a short time later that its forces began a third round of strikes against Iran. “The United States is imposing a heavy cost by continuing to degrade Iran’s ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the strait,” the military said. Europe considering proposals to allow navigation fees in strait of Hormuz Read more A Cyprus-flagged container ship struck by Iran suffered “significant engine room damage”, and a civilian crew member is missing, US Central Command said. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) said on Sunday that it received a report of an incident nine nautical miles east of Oman. Military authorities have reported a container ship sustained damage to the rear of the vessel which has caused a fire onboard, it said. Iran’s statement said several ships attempted to move through the waterway on an “unauthorised route” and disregarded warnings to correct their course. The strait, the IRGC said, was closed “until further notice” and until “the end of US interference in this region.” Acts of aggression against Iran “will be met with a severe response, and new enemy bases in the region will be targeted,” the navy said. The latest incident comes amid efforts in Oman to discuss the fate of the strait. Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araqchi met Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr Albusaidi to exchange “views on appropriate mechanisms for the safe passage of ships through the strait of Hormuz”, according to a statement from Tehran. A senior Iranian source told Reuters that Iran, the US, Qatar and Pakistan had agreed to negotiate in a call that mediators were trying to arrange for Saturday while Araqchi was in Oman. It was not immediately clear whether the efforts were successful. The latest diplomatic moves followed exchanges of rhetoric between Te
