The U.S. and Iran exchanged a barrage of missile and drone airstrikes on Sunday, as Tehran targeted American facilities in several Gulf states while declaring the critical Strait of Hormuz waterway closed to traffic.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard said Saturday that it closed Hormuz to all ship traffic “until further notice,” according to the Iranian state news outlet PressTV. “No vessel will be permitted to transit the strait,” the Guard said in a statement published by PressTV.
On Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump, in an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” disputed that claim, saying the strait was open to commercial traffic. Trump ordered renewed airstrikes against Iran on Saturday after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attacked a commercial ship transiting the strait, the U.S. military said in a statement.
The M/V GFS Galaxy, a container ship sailing under the flag of Cyprus, was unable to continue its journey after the Iranian attack caused an onboard fire and significant damage to the vessel’s engine room, U.S. Central Command said. A civilian crew member was missing, Centcom said.
Iran responded to the renewed assault by targeting U.S. facilities in several neighboring countries.
Qatar’s Ministry of Defense said its armed forces intercepted several ballistic missiles. Bahrain’s Interior Ministry urged its citizens to seek shelter after sounding an alert. Kuwait’s army said it was confronting “hostile aerial targets.”
Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Sunday it holds Iran “fully and legally responsible for these attacks and their resulting repercussions and consequences.”
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirms that the continuation of these attacks constitutes a dangerous escalation that will complicate de-escalation efforts and undermine political and diplomatic endeavors aimed at achieving security and stability in the region,” its statement read.
The United Arab Emirates said in a statement it “condemned in the strongest terms the renewed hostile missile and drone attacks by Iran targeting the Kingdom of Bahrain, the State of Kuwait, the State of Qatar, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and the Sultanate of Oman.”
A senior Gulf government official told MS NOW that the region is on “high alert” after the Iranian strikes. The source said Iran’s “desire to control the Strait of Hormuz is fanciful and dangerous,” stating the Gulf countries “will never allow it.”
The U.S. airstrikes on Saturday were the third time it has bombed Iran this week in retaliation for attacks on commercial vessels transiting Hormuz.
Iran has attacked ships that are using a southern route along Oman’s coast protected by the U.S. military. Tehran is demanding that vessels use a northern route through its territorial waters.
U.S. Central Command on Sunday morning sought to alleviate fears of mariners transiting the strait, saying in an X post that the “Strait of Hormuz is open to all vessels seeking to lawfully transit the international…
Read More: U.S. and Iran trade airstrikes amid conflict over the Strait of Hormuz
