Tensions rise in the Middle East over shipping passing through the Strait of Hormuz
Main Points
- U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iran that its forces will be “blown off the face of the earth” if they attempt to target US vessels guiding ships through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday
- Iran’s army commander in chief, Maj Gen Amir Hatami, warned that any attempt by US aircraft carriers to approach the Strait of Hormuz would be met with force
- Iran also fired projectiles at the United Arab Emirates and Oman after the US military launched Project Freedom to ensure ships could again pass through the strait
- Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said events in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday made it clear “that there’s no military solution to a political crisis”
- Oil prices fell back 1 per cent overnight, having risen by about 6 per cent on Monday after the UAE and South Korea reported strikes on ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday
- Global oil prices are about 50 per cent higher since the US and Israel attacked Iran
- The US and Iran announced a ceasefire in early April
- This saw Iran end drone and missile strikes on Gulf countries, but shipping through the strait has not recovered
US wants allies to “come assist” in keeping Hormuz open
Weeks after saying the US did not need help from NATO or European allies, a top US military commander has appealed for countries “with an equity stake in the Strait to come assist”.
General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made his comments at the same press briefing.
America has moved to reopen the strategic waterway to commercial shipping, with Caine saying, “Now is the time for those with equity stakes in the strait to come assist.”
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said: “The world needs this waterway a lot more than we do. We’re stabilising the situation so commerce can flow again.
“But we expect the world to step up at the appropriate time, and soon we will hand responsibility back to you.” – Additional reporting, PA
22,500 mariners remain trapped in the Strait of Hormuz, says US Joint Chiefs of Staff chair
Speaking at the same media briefing on the US-Israeli war on Iran, joint chiefs of the staff chair Dan Caine said Iran has continued to attack its neighbours, referring to yesterday’s strikes on Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
He said the Iranian attacks have all fallen below the threshold of restarting major combat operations at this point.
Caine also said some 22,500 mariners remain trapped in the Strait of Hormuz and are unable to transit.
He said commercial vessels in the region will feel US military power around them in the seas and the skies.
The joint force is “ready to resume major combat operations” against Iran if ordered to do, he added. – Guardian
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said the US won’t need to enter the Iranian airspace or waters as part of opening the Strait of Hormuz.
In a media briefing on the US-Israeli war on Iran, Hegseth called Iran the “clear aggressor.”
He also said Iran will face overwhelming firepower if it attacks commercial shipping.
Iran has been harassing ships for too long in the Strait of Hormuz he said, adding that the US aims to protect shipping from Iranian aggression and its operation, Project Freedom, in the Strait of Hormuz is temporary.
The Pentagon chief said Iran has acted aggressively towards “innocent countries” whose ships are trying to pass through the strait of Hormuz.
He said Iran is “embarrassed” and although it says it controls the strait, “it does not”.
Hegseth said the United States has established a “dome” across the strait as a “gift to the rest of the world”.
The blockade remains “iron-clad” and in force, he said.
Six ships tried to break through the blockade from Iranian ports, he added, but they were stopped by US forces. – Guardian
Nine countries are known to have nuclear weapons: China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, the US and the UK.
The US and Israel bombed Iranian nuclear facilities last June, and justifying his declaration of the current war on Iran in late February, Donald Trump claimed that Iran – primarily through its nuclear programme – posed an “imminent threat.”
Iran maintains that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes and that it has no plans to develop nuclear weapons.
But Iran, as of April, did have about 440.9 kilograms of uranium that was enriched up to 60 per cent purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent, according to the the International Atomic Energy Agency. – Guardian