(AFP) – The latest developments in the Middle East war:
– **Iran ‘not even started’**
Iran’s chief negotiator in talks with the United States, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, warned that his country had “not even started” and that US actions in the Strait of Hormuz had put shipping at risk.
– **Stocks sink on rising tension**
Stocks sank across Asian exchanges as a fresh spike in Middle East tensions fanned fears over the fragile US-Iran ceasefire, and oil prices fell back slightly after gains on Monday.
– **Maersk sails through Hormuz**
Denmark’s freight giant Maersk said one of its ships had sailed through the Strait of Hormuz under US escort, adding the transit was completed “without incident”.
– **India criticises strike on UAE**
India condemned a drone strike on an energy facility in the United Arab Emirates in which three Indians were injured, urging uninterrupted access to the Strait of Hormuz.
– **South Korea mulls Hormuz involvement**
South Korea said it would “review its position” on joining US operations in the Strait of Hormuz after President Donald Trump urged Seoul to take part following an apparent Iranian attack on one of its ships.
– **Britain calls for de-escalation**
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for de-escalation in the Middle East after the United Arab Emirates reported attacks for the first time since a truce was declared nearly a month ago.
– **’No plan’ to attack UAE: Iran**
Iran had “no pre-planned programme” to attack oil facilities in the United Arab Emirates, Iranian state TV quoted a military official as saying, after the UAE blamed the Islamic republic for a drone strike at an energy installation in Fujairah. “What happened was the product of the US military’s adventurism to create a passage for ships to illegally pass through” the Strait of Hormuz, the official said. “The US military must be held accountable for it.”
– **UAE returns to remote teaching**
The United Arab Emirates’s education ministry ordered all schools to return to remote teaching for the remainder of the week following fresh attacks on the country by Iran.
– **US says destroyed Iran boats**
A top US admiral said his country’s forces had destroyed six Iranian boats and shot down missiles and drones fired at US Navy and commercial vessels by Tehran’s military, though Tehran denied any boats had been sunk.
– **Trump: ‘no damage’ in Hormuz**
President Donald Trump played down tensions after US warships entered the Strait of Hormuz, saying Iran had “taken some shots” but caused no harm apart from damage to a South Korean vessel. “Other than the South Korean Ship, there has been, at this moment, no damage going through the Strait,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
– **UAE hit**
The United Arab Emirates said it was targeted by Iranian strikes, including one on its vital Fujairah energy hub that wounded three Indians. “These attacks represent a dangerous escalation and an unacceptable transgression,” the UAE’s foreign ministry said, adding that the country reserves the “right to respond.”
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© 2024 AFP
