(AFP) – US forces are ready to resume combat operations against Iran if ordered, Washington’s top military officer said Tuesday, as the Pentagon threatened a “devastating” response to Iranian attacks on commercial shipping in the Hormuz strait. The warnings came after Iran’s powerful chief negotiator said Tehran “had not even started yet” in the crucial trade route, after a spate of attacks by both sides on Monday threatened to reignite the Middle East war.
Iran fired missiles and drones at US forces and UAE territory, including an energy facility, while Washington said it hit six Iranian boats it claimed were threatening commercial shipping, marking the sharpest escalation since a nearly month-long truce. US Central Command “and the rest of the joint force remain ready to resume major combat operations against Iran if ordered to do so,” General Dan Caine told reporters. “No adversary should mistake our current restraint with a lack of resolve.” Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth stated that the US was “not looking for a fight” in the strait but vowed that Iranian attacks would “face overwhelming and devastating American firepower.”
Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who has become a prominent figure in peace talks, said the status quo was “intolerable for America.” The trading of fire in the waterway, where the rivals are vying for control with dueling maritime blockades, took place after US President Donald Trump announced a plan to guide ships out of the Gulf. The conflict, which erupted over two months ago with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, has spread throughout the Middle East and roiled the global economy, impacting hundreds of millions worldwide despite a weeks-long ceasefire.
Ghalibaf remarked that the actions of the US and its allies had put shipping security at risk but asserted that their “malign presence will diminish,” vowing Tehran would not surrender control of the Hormuz strait. Iran denied any of its combat ships had been hit in US attacks but accused Washington of killing five civilian passengers on boats. Despite the clashes under Trump’s effort dubbed “Project Freedom,” Denmark’s freight giant Maersk announced that one of its ships had successfully navigated through the Hormuz under US escort. Iran’s military had threatened to attack any US forces that approached or entered the trade route.
The UAE called Iranian missile and drone attacks, including one on an energy facility in Fujairah, “a dangerous escalation and an unacceptable transgression,” while key US ally Saudi Arabia urged efforts “to reach a political solution.” The attacks sent another shock through the global economy, with stocks sinking on Tuesday after crude prices surged a day earlier, raising concerns over the truce with no sign of a deal to reopen the strait. Negotiations between Washington and Tehran remain deadlocked, with only one round of direct peace talks held so far.
Soaring energy costs for consumers due to the war have caused economic pain worldwide and created a headache for Trump months before midterm elections. Washington’s European allies share concerns that the longer the strait remains closed, the more their economies will suffer. “These attacks are unacceptable,” EU chief Ursula von der Leyen stated on X, adding that “security in the (Gulf) region has direct consequences for Europe.” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also implored Tehran to “return to the negotiating table and stop holding the region and the world hostage,” echoing calls from French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Macron is scheduled to speak with Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian later on Tuesday.
UAE authorities reported that Iran launched four cruise missiles at its territory, three of which were successfully shot down, while another fell into the sea. Iran also fired drones at a tanker associated with the UAE’s state-owned oil giant ADNOC. Tehran claimed it had “no pre-planned program” to target oil facilities in the UAE but blamed Washington’s attempts to break Tehran’s blockade of the Hormuz strait for its attacks. “What happened was the product of the US military’s adventurism to create a passage for ships to illegally pass through the forbidden passages of the Strait of Hormuz,” an Iranian military official stated on state TV.
An Israeli military official confirmed on Monday that the army remained on high alert and was monitoring the situation after the US reported downing Iranian missiles and drones. Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have continued their attacks despite a ceasefire in Lebanon. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun announced on Monday that a security deal and an end to Israeli attacks were necessary before any meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which is being sought by Washington. Israeli and Lebanese representatives met twice in Washington last month—the first such meetings in decades—after Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war on March 2, prompting heavy Israeli strikes and a ground invasion.
burs-jfx/ser – AFP teams in Washington, Tehran, and Dubai.
© 2024 AFP
