**Dubai (AFP)** – Iran announced it was again closing the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday and hit Gulf neighbours in retaliation for US strikes, further undermining efforts to salvage Middle East peace efforts. Here are the latest developments:
**Indian missing**
India said 10 of its nationals had been rescued and one remained missing after a strike early Sunday on a vessel off the coast of Oman, which the United States blamed on Iran. British maritime agency UKMTO earlier said the crew had abandoned ship and taken to a lifeboat.
**Iran ‘warning shots’**
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards had said earlier they struck and stopped a ship in the Strait of Hormuz for ignoring repeated instructions to use an approved route, calling the fire “warning shots.” The US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said the vessel had been disabled by fire and damage to its engine room.
**Jordan hit**
Jordan’s army said three Iranian missiles had fallen “in several locations across the kingdom, without causing any casualties.”
**Pakistan urges ‘restraint’**
Pakistan’s top diplomat called for “de-escalation” and for all sides to “show restraint” during a phone call with his Iranian counterpart on Sunday, the foreign ministry said.
**Kuwait attacked**
Kuwait’s military said its air defence forces were working to intercept an ongoing attack on its territory, as countries across the Gulf were targeted by drones and missiles.
**Iran strikes second vessel**
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced they had hit a second vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, state TV network IRIB reported, adding they had also attacked a US base in Qatar.
**US facilities in Oman hit**
The Revolutionary Guards said they had also destroyed “the logistical support centres for naval vessels and the refuelling facilities for US aircraft carriers at the port of Duqm in Oman.” The Oman News Agency said on X that “the Sultanate of Oman affirms its condemnation and denunciation of this attack,” which came just hours after the country hosted Iran’s foreign minister to address security issues in the Strait of Hormuz.
**US strikes 140 targets**
CENTCOM said Saturday the US military had hit “approximately” 140 targets in Iran in retaliation for Tehran’s attack on another commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz. The targets included missile and drone sites, naval capabilities, ammunition storage facilities, communication networks, and coastal surveillance locations, it said.
**UAE, Bahrain attacked**
Air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain, while the United Arab Emirates defense ministry said air defenses were engaging missile and drone threats.
**Three injured in Qatar**
Qatar also reported intercepting missile attacks, and said three people had been injured.
**Iran will ‘pay’: Hegseth**
“Iran made a poor choice. Now they pay,” said US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after Iran’s strikes in the Strait of Hormuz.
**Iran closes Hormuz**
Iran’s Guards said the Strait of Hormuz would be closed “until further notice” after the latest hostilities, state media reported, renewing pressure on global energy prices, which have soared over hostilities around the vital shipping route.
**’Vengeance’**
Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, vowed revenge for the US-Israeli killing of his father and predecessor on February 28, the first day of the war. “Vengeance is the will of our nation and must inevitably be carried out,” he said in a written message Saturday, his first since his father’s funeral.
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© 2024 AFP
