“We’re going to be attacking them, attacking them very hard,” Trump told reporters at the White House, saying the strikes would come later on Wednesday (local time). The US and Iran have traded fire several times since a tentative ceasefire took hold in early April, even as negotiators have sought an end to the three-month-old war. Trump has repeatedly said a deal is close, though there has been no sign of a breakthrough. In the latest such incident, the US military targeted air defences and
radar sites around the Strait of Hormuz after a US attack helicopter was downed near the strategic waterway. Iran responded with missile and drone attacks on US bases in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain. A US official said there was no significant damage. Iran said the US had violated international law by striking reservoirs that supplied drinking water to 10 villages. “This is not collateral damage — it is a calculated war crime and a flagrant violation of human rights,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghei said.
Trump, who has threatened before to destroy Iran’s civilian infrastructure, did not say whether the coming strikes would target power plants and bridges. The head of the Iranian parliament’s national security committee, Ebrahim Azizi, warned in response that the “war won’t be limited to the region.” Despite the belligerent language from both sides, there were signs of continuing diplomatic efforts. A delegation from Qatar, which has been mediating between the United States and Iran, landed in Tehran on Wednesday to hold talks on the latest
developments, Iranian media reported. TRUMP CLAIMS A SECRET MISSION The war has killed thousands and disrupted roughly one-fifth of the world’s supply of oil and natural gas, sending prices sharply higher. Iran has blocked traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, while the US has maintained its own blockade on Iranian ports. Oil prices rose nearly $US3 ($NZ5.17) following Trump’s threat of escalation, to $US94 per barrel. Trump said vessels carrying 100 million barrels of oil had defied Iran to travel through the strait as part
of a secret military mission. He said oil prices would be much higher without the effort. Separately, the US military said it disabled an oil tanker transporting Iranian crude in the Gulf of Oman on Tuesday for a second consecutive day. FIGHTING IN LEBANON CONTINUES Fighting in a parallel war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon has continued. Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon killed at least 13 people on Wednesday, Lebanese security sources said, while Hezbollah claimed fresh attacks against Israeli forces. Tehran’s
demands include an end to Israel’s attacks in Lebanon, the lifting of sanctions on Iran, the release of billions of dollars in frozen assets, and recognition of its control of the strait. Trump says Iran must end its restrictions on shipping through Hormuz. He also says any peace deal must ensure Iran cannot develop a nuclear weapon. Iran denies any such ambition. The UN nuclear watchdog’s 35-nation Board of Governors passed a US-backed resolution on Wednesday telling Iran to declare its remaining enriched uranium stocks
and let inspectors verify them. Iran branded the resolution as “political”.
Trump, Iran, United States, Strait of Hormuz, Qatar mediation, Esmaeil Baghei, Ebrahim Azizi, missile and drone attacks, oil prices, Lebanon, Hezbollah, UN nuclear watchdog