Iran continues to tighten its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, despite facing a serious escalation by the United States.
On July 7, the Islamic Republic was accused of targeting three commercial vessels near the strategic waterway. The vessels were passing through the Strait’s Omani route, which the Islamic Republic previously warned against using.
First, the Qatari liquefied natural gas carrier Al Rekayyat was hit about eight nautical miles east of Limah, off the coast of Oman. Later, the Saudi oil supertanker Wedyan was targeted along the very same route. Soon after, a third smaller oil tanker owned by South Korea, the Cyprus Prosperity, was struck there.
The first two vessels sustained significant damage, and Al Rekayyat was even reported to be at risk of exploding.
U.S. media reports said that all three vessels were targeted by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Qatar and Saudi Arabia officially held the Islamic Republic responsible.
In an initial response to the attacks on the vessels, the U.S. revoked a general license that authorized the sale of Iranian oil.
The U.S. escalated further overnight into July 8, launching powerful strikes against Iran. Explosions were heard in areas west and east of the port city of Bandar Abbas in the southern province of Hormozgan. Additional strikes were reported in Sirik County, also located in Hormozgan. Qeshm Island was also hit. More strikes targeted the southern province of Bushehr. Meanwhile, in the city of Bandar-e Mahshahr in the southwestern province of Khuzestan, a service member of the IRGC Navy was killed in a strike.
Later, the Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that it had struck over 80 targets in the Islamic Republic. The targets included air defense systems, command and control networks, coastal radar sites, anti-ship missile capabilities, and more than 60 assets belonging to the IRGC Navy.
CENTCOM said that the strikes were carried out to “degrade Iran’s ability to continue attacking international commerce flowing through the international trade corridor.”
U.S. media reported that the strikes were ordered personally by the U.S. President Donlad Trump, and could continue in coming days.
The response came fast from Iran, with the IRGC announcing that it had struck 85 U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait. The guards also said that an American MQ-9 Reaper combat drone was shot down over Bushehr. Both Kuwait and Bahrain confirmed coming under attack.
The U.S. strikes were a major violation of the memorandum of understanding to end the war signed last month. A more elaborate response by Iran is to be expected, and the Islamic Republic is unlikely to halt operations in the Strait of Hormuz. Still, the deal is expected to hold up.
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no, the deal cannot hold up, it was never going to last. as should be obvious, it requires the united states to recognise iran not as a defeated supplicant, but as the first successful challenger of imperial power since vietnam.
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏falou tudo.
irã destrua por completo o aeroporto ben gurion de israel, em nome de deus!