Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Iran launched drone and missile attacks targeting Bahrain and Kuwait on Sunday after fresh US airstrikes on the Islamic Republic, while also warning that negotiations to end the war could come to a “complete halt” if Washington keeps attacking. The latest exchanges came as tensions rose over efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz without Iran’s oversight.
The fighting has also cast a shadow over wider diplomatic efforts involving the US and Iran, with Pakistan earlier saying talks were due to resume on Tuesday. At the same time, continued violence in Lebanon, including the killing of an Israeli soldier in Hezbollah fire early Sunday, has added to concerns around the interim arrangement meant to stop fighting on all fronts before more difficult issues are taken up.
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A multinational maritime body overseen by the US Navy said on Saturday it would expand a route near Oman for inbound and outbound traffic, creating a new point of friction with Tehran. On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi repeated Tehran’s position that only Iran must govern the strait, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf that once carried a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas. He said, “Any attempt to establish new or separate arrangements from those currently being carried out by the Islamic Republic of Iran will only lead to further complications, delay the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and increase the level of tension.”
The wider international community has long regarded the strait as an international waterway, even though it lies in the territorial waters of Iran and Oman. In recent days, Iran has twice attacked vessels using a route on the Omani side during an evacuation effort backed by a United Nations agency. The US and Iran have been discussing the terms of an interim deal, including arrangements on the strait, lifting a US blockade on Iranian ports and sanctions on Iran, and the future of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Under a memorandum of understanding signed this month, both sides have 60 days from the signing to work out the details.
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed responsibility for the attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait. Kuwait, which hosts a major US military base, said its air defences intercepted Iranian drones and two missiles soon after the US strikes in Iran, with no reports of injuries or damage. Bahrain said the Iranian strikes damaged a residential building near the international airport and that no one was killed. Bahrain, which hosts the US Navy’s 5th Fleet, said the damaged building was not near the fleet’s headquarters. Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry called it “a dangerous escalation that reveals that what Tehran is doing is not a passing act, nor an isolated incident, but rather a deliberate approach and a systematic pattern of repeated aggression.”
Later on Sunday, Qatar said a civilian had been killed and another person injured by shrapnel linked to “military operations in the area” after a vessel did not return at its scheduled time on Saturday. The statement did not provide further details.
The US military’s Central Command said it struck Iranian military “surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defence sites, drone storage facilities and minelayer capabilities” after an attack on a ship at sea on Saturday. The Panamanian-flagged tanker Kiku was carrying crude oil for Qatar’s state-run energy company, and Qatar has been a key mediator between Iran and the US. US President Donald Trump said on social media that Iran had violated the ceasefire and warned there could come a point when the US would no longer be reasonable “and will be forced to militarily complete the job.” He added: “If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!” The current round of exchanges began when an Iranian drone hit a merchant vessel off Oman on Thursday, followed by US retaliatory strikes.
Ship traffic through the strait has risen over the past 72 hours on both the Iranian and Omani sides despite what the maritime body described as an “elevated threat environment”. It said “US-assisted commercial transits continued uninterrupted” and that 89 such transits had taken place, still below the historical daily average of 138 vessels.
In Lebanon, last week Israel and Lebanon signed a framework agreement to end the latest fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, which began two days after the Iran war started when Hezbollah fired at Israel. Israel responded with an invasion of southern Lebanon and has said it will not withdraw until Hezbollah is disarmed. The deal did not include Iran or Hezbollah, and Hezbollah has criticised it and rejected calls to disarm. On Sunday, Araghchi again said the US must make Israel stop its attacks and withdraw. Israel occupies about 600 square kilometres in southern Lebanon, saying it needs the area as a security buffer.
Clashes in Lebanon have continued at a lower level. Hezbollah’s leader said on Saturday that the group would keep fighting until Israel withdraws from Lebanon. Iranian negotiator and parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said on Sunday that a meeting of a new “conflict control unit” involving Iran, the US and Lebanon should be held as soon as possible, according to Iran’s state broadcaster. Lebanon’s National News Agency said two strikes hit southern Lebanon on Sunday morning, one in Taybeh town and the other in the Nabatiyeh area, with no immediate word on casualties. Overnight, Hezbollah militants killed an Israeli soldier in Deir Siryan village in southern Lebanon, Israel’s military said, while Hezbollah did not comment.
The day closed with fighting continuing across more than one front: Iran pressing its claim over the Strait of Hormuz, Gulf states reporting fresh attacks, the US warning of further action, and Lebanon remaining a source of strain for the fragile effort to secure a broader halt in hostilities.
With PTI Inputs
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
