(AFP) – Tehran announced it was closing the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday and launched missiles and drones at its Gulf neighbours, in retaliation for new US strikes following an attack by Iranian forces on a merchant vessel that was abandoned in flames by its crew. Sirens and explosions were heard in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain, AFP journalists and local authorities reported, the latest escalation to undermine an interim agreement between Washington and Tehran aimed at ending the Middle East war.
The Pentagon said it had struck Iran early Sunday after the Revolutionary Guards fired on a Cyprus-registered container ship they said was sailing an “unauthorised route” through the Strait of Hormuz. The Guards then claimed to have hit a second vessel, according to state media, accusing it of “violating regulations.” Iranian media reported explosions in Bandar Abbas, Sirik, Jask, and on Qeshm Island as well as in Khuzestan province, which borders Iraq, with no immediate reports of casualties. Hours later, air raid sirens sounded over Bahrain, while the United Arab Emirates and Qatar said they intercepted missile attacks, with Doha reporting three injuries. Kuwait also said it was working to intercept an attack, while Jordan reported that three Iranian missiles fell on its territory.
Iran’s Guards stated they destroyed “the logistical support centres for naval vessels and the refuelling facilities for US aircraft carriers at the port of Duqm in Oman.” The Guards had earlier claimed they struck and stopped a vessel ignoring repeated instructions to use an approved shipping corridor, according to state news agency IRNA. “Following this incident… the Strait of Hormuz will be closed until further notice and until the end of American interventions in this region,” the Guards announced.
Although Iran characterized the strike on the ship as “warning shots,” the US military condemned Tehran for a “blatant attack” on a Cyprus-flagged container ship transiting the strait. A crew member was reported missing, and the vessel had been disabled by fire and damage to its engine room, according to US Central Command (CENTCOM). The crew abandoned the vessel and were on a lifeboat, British maritime agency UKMTO reported, adding that the incident occurred around 17 kilometres (10 miles) east of Oman. “In response, the United States is imposing a heavy cost by continuing to degrade Iran’s ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the strait,” it stated on X.
CENTCOM later reported that the military had hit approximately 140 Iranian military targets as it completed the third round of strikes this week, initiated at the direction of US President Donald Trump. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth remarked simply: “Iran made a poor choice. Now they pay.”
Strikes earlier this week by Tehran on vessels in the strait had also triggered exchanges of fire between Iran and the United States, sparking heated rhetoric between the adversaries. The tensions threatened an interim agreement aimed at ending the Middle East war, which broke out in late February following massive US-Israeli strikes that killed Iran’s former supreme leader Ali Khamenei. A major obstacle to a final agreement is the future of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran closed to commercial shipping during the war. The waterway is a critical conduit for oil and gas exports from the Gulf, and its closure during the war has significantly impacted the world economy. Iran insists on controlling the passage of ships and plans to charge fees, a stance that Washington has rejected. Under customary international law, states are generally not permitted to charge tolls on straits used for international navigation.
The latest strikes came as Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei vowed revenge for the killing of his father and predecessor. “Vengeance is the will of our nation and must inevitably be carried out,” he declared in his first message since his father’s funeral this week. “This matter depends neither on my personal existence nor on that of other officials. Whether we are present or not, it will come to pass.” Khamenei revealed that Iran had compiled a list of individuals to be targeted. He has not appeared in public since before the war, and he was reportedly wounded in the strikes that killed his father.
Hours earlier, Trump had posted on his Truth Social platform that any attempt to assassinate him would lead the United States to “completely decimate” Iran. Trump has declared the ceasefire over while leaving the door open for talks, and mediators are attempting to salvage a diplomatic solution.
burs-acb/abs/tc/axn/amj – AFP teams in Tehran, Washington, and Dubai.
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