Hormuz shut until ‘end of US interference’

US and Iranian forces have exchanged heavy missile and drone assaults, with Tehran targeting US facilities in states across the Gulf yesterday and saying it had again closed the vital Strait of Hormuz.

The strikes were the latest in a cycle of attacks and counter-attacks as Iran seeks to assert control over shipping through the strait. However, the latest barrage marked a sharp escalation in pace and range.

The attacks extended to the United Arab Emirates, which had not been targeted since early May, and Qatar, a mediator in ceasefire talks that had not come under attack since April.

US President Donald Trump, however, said yesterday that the Strait of Hormuz is open to commercial traffic during an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press. “We hit them very hard last night,” Trump told CNN by telephone in another interview centering mainly on the death of Senator Lindsey Graham.

Trump 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.

Mohsen Rezaee, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, said that the Strait of Hormuz is “more important than dozens of atomic bombs”, vowing to protect the vital waterway.

The renewed violence casts further doubt on the future of an interim US-Iranian agreement signed last month that aimed to reopen the strait and end the war after a further 60 days of negotiations. In the past week, Trump has said he considers the ceasefire over, while leaving the door open to more talks.

Although the interim deal was intended to reopen the strait, Iran has sought to establish a permanent system for collecting fees and has warned vessels not to sail without its authorisation, reports Reuters.

It said early late on Saturday it had closed the waterway after firing a warning shot that struck a vessel travelling on an unauthorised route. Yesterday, it said it had disabled a second vessel.

India said one of its nationals was missing after an attack on the container ship GFS Galaxy off the coast of Oman earlier yesterday. Oman said 23 crew members had been rescued. Qatar advised all vessels, including leisure boats, fishing boats and jet skis, to suspend activities.

The strait will remain closed until “the end of US interference in this region,” Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said.

US Central Command, however, said its forces were positioned to safeguard freedom of navigation despite what it described as “aggression, harassment, threats, and arbitrary declarations” from Iran.  “Iran does not control the strait. Traffic is flowing,” it said.

The US Navy-led Joint Maritime Information Center reiterated guidance that, despite a severe security threat, an “expanded” southern route near Oman was available for two-way traffic.

Central Command said US forces hit 140 Iranian military targets on Saturday night. Iranian state media reported explosions in several port cities and said an Iranian army officer had been killed in “US-Israeli” attacks on Iran.

In response, the Guards said they had destroyed a command-and-control centre and drone hangars in US ally Jordan, targeted a US radar site in Kuwait, attacked US aircraft carrier support and refuelling platforms in Oman and destroyed a jet maintenance centre and command facility in Qatar.

Qatar, which has previously said it would not act as a mediator so long as it was under attack, said three people, including a child, had been injured by falling shrapnel. It said Iran was “fully legally responsible” for the attack.

The UAE said it detected missile threats outside its borders, Bahrain said it intercepted several Iranian aerial attacks, Jordan reported missile strikes and Oman reported being targeted with drones.

Oman said it had summoned Iran’s ambassador to protest over drone attacks in two regions and the US embassy in Oman told its nationals in Duqm and Musandam to shelter in place.