Shafaqna Pakistan: Tensions in the Gulf escalated again on Wednesday, with the US military reporting that Iranian missile strikes targeting Bahrain, Kuwait, and other regional sites were either intercepted or failed to reach their destinations, as diplomatic efforts between Washington and Tehran made little apparent progress.
According to US Central Command, two missiles fired toward Kuwait either fell short or disintegrated mid-flight, while several other ballistic missiles aimed at regional targets malfunctioned. It also said three missiles directed at Bahrain were intercepted.
Since the conflict began in late February, Iran has repeatedly targeted areas across the Gulf that host US military installations.
Central Command further stated that US forces shot down Iranian drones aimed at civilian vessels in regional waters and at US positions in Kuwait, and also conducted strikes on Qeshm Island near the Strait of Hormuz in response to attempted Iranian attacks.
According to Iranian state media, the country’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) attacked the US Fifth Fleet headquarters, located in Bahrain, as well as an airbase and helicopters in an unspecified regional country using missiles and drones in response to what the IRGC described as a US attack on a communications tower south of Qeshm.
Central Command said all the attacks failed and that US forces remained ready to repel “unwarranted Iranian aggression.”
The latest flare-up, which lifted oil prices by more than 1% in early trade on Wednesday, comes more than three months after the initial US and Israeli strikes on Iran, with the conflict mired in a stalemate under a shaky ceasefire and the Strait of Hormuz largely closed to maritime traffic.
Iran and the US said last week that they had reached a tentative initial agreement to halt the war. But the two sides have yet to sign off on the deal.
Iranian media reported that Tehran has not communicated with Washington for several days, but US President Donald Trump said negotiations have not stopped.
“The conversations between us have been going on continuously, including four days ago, three days ago, two days ago, one day ago, and today,” he said in a social media post.
DISCUSSIONS ON NUCLEAR PROGRAMME
Since mid-March, Trump has repeatedly said he is close to a deal that would end the fighting and allow negotiators to tackle thorny issues including the future of Iran’s nuclear programme.
Trump has said stopping Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons is his top priority. Iran denies it is developing a nuclear bomb and says its atomic programme is for peaceful purposes.
Tehran is seeking access to billions of dollars in oil revenues, waivers on crude exports, a lifting of a US blockade on its ports and continued leverage over the strait, which handled a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas traffic before the war.
Iranian media said the IRGC’s navy targeted a vessel it identified as “Panaya” with missiles in response to what it said was a US attack on an Iranian tanker near Hormuz.
“Disrupting the security of the Strait of Hormuz will carry a heavy price for the US military,” Iranian media cited the IRGC as saying.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers on Tuesday that the US would agree to sanctions relief only if Iran agrees to give up its nuclear activity.
Rubio declared, “The war is over,” during a sharp exchange with Democratic Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, who disagreed.
Source: Dunya News
