The US has launched a new wave of strikes against Iran after the latter attacked a civilian vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran said it considered the key waterway closed after accusing a Cyprus flagged container ship, the M/V GFS Galaxy, to be taking an “unauthorised” route.
An attack on a container ship has led to renewed strikes against Iran. Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP
In a statement, US Central Command claimed a civilian was missing, and that Iran had failed to adhere to previous agreements not to attack civilian vessels.
“Iran was provided yet another opportunity to demonstrate adherence to the Memorandum of Understanding after being held accountable for earlier attacks on commercial vessels but has again failed,” the statement posted on X said.
“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. The strikes are being carried out at the direction of the Commander in Chief.”
It said the container ship also suffered “significant damage” and was unable to move as a result.
Senior US officials had previously said in Washington that negotiations to further cement last month’s deal to end the war will be unable to progress without the strait being secure — and had even said they expected Iran to offer public statements to that effect.
Instead, the Revolutionary Guards Corps stated in an online post on Saturday that Iran launched warning shots at a “violating ship.”
Iran further reported that the strait would now remain closed until further notice.
Supreme Leader issues fresh threat after emotional week
Iran’s Supreme Leader has vowed to take revenge after the death of his father Ali Khamenei in his first public statement since a week-long funeral procession for the slain Supreme Leader.
Mojtaba Khamenei has vowed revenge on those who killed his father. Nine
Mojtaba Khamenei insisted Iran would avenge those killed in the war in a week of high emotion and heavy anti-US sentiment in response to their role in the former Supreme Leader’s death.
“Revenge is the demand of our nation, and most certainly must be carried out,” he said in a statement carried on Iranian state television.
Mojtaba has not been seen in public since taking power, believed to have been badly disfigured in the same strike that killed his father.
Despite rumours of his true health, he communicates to his inner circle and in writing, including on his personal Telegram account.
Mojtaba Khamenei has shared several strong threats on the platform this week, calling the deaths of his father and several high-ranking leaders in the country “criminal”.
“We pledge to avenge your pure blood and the blood of all the martyrs of these two [recent] wars by taking revenge against the criminal, disgraceful murderers,” he said in one post.
Huge crowds gather for the burial of Iran’s late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the Imam Reza Shrine in Iran. Getty Images
“This vengeance is what our nation is demanding, and this must definitely be done.”
The threats come after US President Donald Trump claimed to leave instructions on what the United States should do in the event of his assassination by Iran.
Trump had claimed Israel had told him such a plot existed, though he later walked this back.
“I’ve been on their list for a long time,” Trump said to the New York Post.
“The only thing is, I’ve left instructions — if anything happens, to just literally bomb them at levels that they’ve never seen before.”
A thousand “missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat,” Trump wrote on social media overnight.
US President Donald Trump is back to square one when it comes to keeping Iran in check. AP Photo/Alex Brandon
He said he was responding to threats “to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate” him.
During Khamenei’s funeral, mourners held posters or banners calling for Trump to be killed along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump has declared the ceasefire over but said the US would continue negotiations.
US officials, speaking on Friday on condition of anonymity about the current situation with Iran, said the resumption of strikes in recent days came after what they described as a rogue faction of Iranian hard-liners tried to sabotage the ceasefire.
Iran has insisted its theocracy is unified under the new supreme leader.
After the US wrapped up its latest strikes on Thursday, more attacks reportedly hit Iran, raising questions about who else may be targeting the Islamic Republic.
Israel didn’t claim them, meaning the Gulf Arab states may have launched them, likely as a means to deter Iran from attacking them again.
Iran on Thursday retaliated for US strikes by targeting Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar.
The strikes in Iran over two days killed at least 17 people and wounded 115 others, Iranian Health Ministry spokesperson Hossein Kermanpour said.
Reported with Associated Press