Earlier the IRGC warned: “If any aggression is repeated, the response will be broader.” That broader response has come in the overnight into Sunday hours: Tehran attacks Bahrain, Kuwait after US bombs Iranian coast, Al Jazeera reports:
Air raid sirens blare in Bahrain as Kuwait’s military says its air defenses are responding to “hostile missile and drone threats.“
Iranian state media is also confirming the fresh ‘retaliation’ for limited US airstrikes over the last two days, triggered initially by the Iranians seeking to enforce ‘control’ of the Strait of Hormuz, by attacking no less than two foreign vessels in as many days.
Some unconfirmed emerging video showing some of the latest US action along Iran’s coast, in a widening tit-for-tat:
US launched a fresh wave of attack against IRGC targets in Iran after Iran attacked Bahrain
A massive explosion struck Shahid Rajaee port in Bandar Abbas, southern Iran, shaking the ground and echoing through nearby towns.
Iran is threatening to walk away from the peace deal if the bombings continue:
The IRGC is saying that the enemy – the United States – should know that violating the ceasefire is against the first clause of the MoU and will lead to a complete halt to the process.
It is clearly warning the United States that if these attacks continue, the MoU and the ongoing negotiations are going to come to a halt.
CENTCOM released footage from its earlier Saturday wave of attacks on Iran:
U.S. Navy and Air Force fighter jets conducted strikes tonight on 10 Iranian military targets at multiple locations in and near the Strait of Hormuz for Iran’s drone attack on M/T Kiku.
The Pentagon has sought to level the score once again, after Iran had attacked a second commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz in under 48 hours on Saturday.
Late in the day, the US military conducted more air strikes against “multiple targets in Iran”. According to a fresh CENTCOM statement:
After yesterday’s U.S. strikes in response to the Iranian attack on M/V Ever Lovely, Iran was given a chance to honor the ceasefire agreement but elected not to when its forces launched a one-way attack drone that hit M/T Kiku this morning at 4:30 a.m. ET. The Panama-flagged tanker was transiting near the Strait of Hormuz with more than two-million barrels of crude oil.
CENTCOM forces launched strikes today in direct response to continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping. U.S. military aircraft targeted Iranian military surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities, and minelayer capabilities.
Commercial vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz continue. U.S. forces remain vigilant, lethal, and ready.
While each side has accused the other of violating the ceasefire, neither has yet shown itself ready to just walk away from the signed US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding – even if commitments are slipping.
A lot of escalation has ensued in the last 48 hours, starting when Thursday Tehran struck a commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz, after which by the end of Friday US CENTCOM confirmed a series of fresh attacks on Iranian missile and drone storage sites as well as coastal radar installations, reportedly on Sirik Island located near the Strait of Hormuz.
Referring to Thursday’s attack on a vessel off Oman, the Pentagon called it a “powerful response to yesterday’s attack,” in the Friday statement. By early Saturday, Iran had re-retaliated and launched a fresh drone attack on Bahrain. Additionally, another ship in the Strait of Hormuz separately came under attack Saturday.
The Associated Press points to the obvious potential US-Iran deal (MoU) unraveling: “The attacks across the Persian Gulf show the danger of the Iran war again spinning out of control, even after Iran and the U.S. reached an interim deal to try and agree on a final accord to end the conflict” – though neither side has as yet indicated they are walking away from the deal at this point.
According to more details from the Saturday developments:
But it remains that Iran is now firing warning shots at ships that haven’t cleared permits to transit the Strait of Hormuz under Iran’s own protocol, which highlights that deep divisions remain over each side’s interpretation of the terms. The latest via Reuters:
Gulf states have newly condemned “in the strongest terms the treacherous Iranian attacks” on Bahrain, after drones hit the country’s territory. The GCC statement further alleged that the Iranians targeted “civilian infrastructure and properties”.
Other nations weighed in separately, with for example Kuwait’s foreign ministry saying “The continuation of these aggressions, amid regional and international efforts aimed at de-escalation and reducing tensions, represents a dangerous undermining of efforts for peace and stability and a threat to the security and stability of the region,” on X.
Amid all the tit-for-tat, Iran’s IRGC is blaming the US for breaking it commitments under the signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). A Saturday statement described:
According to Article Five of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, arrangements for monitoring maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz are carried out in coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
