Iranian forces have claimed to have targeted a US airbase, hours after Washington launched an attack near Bandar Abbas airport. Warning of a “more decisive” response, the IRGC did not say which US base it had targeted, but said responsibility for the consequences lay with the “aggressor”.
“The enemy knows that aggression will not go unanswered,” it said. A US official said Iran launched four one-way drones toward a US commercial ship, which were shot down by US forces, who also attacked a launching unit on the ground. The esculation in hostilities adds to the growing uncertainty surrounding the US-Iran ceasefire.
Last night the US carried out strikes on Iran for the second time in three days, targeting a military site in Bandar Abbas, a strategic port city.
US Central Command (Centcom) said its forces also shot down four Iranian one-way attack drones “that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz”.
The renewed hostilities comes after the Washington launched what it called “self-defence” strikes in southern Iran earlier this week. The strikes hit coastal towns near the Strait of Hormuz which remains closed as peace negotiations continue.
The three-month conflict has disrupted traffic through the crucial waterway that transports roughly 20% of the world’s oil and gas supplies, driving global energy prices sharply higher.
Targets also included missile launch sites and and Iranian mine-laying boat.
There has been a lot of back and forth from both the US and Iran regarding a potential peace deal. Iranian state TV claimed yesterday that an “initial unofficial framework for a memorandum of understanding” between the two countries had been drafted.
Under this framework the US would withdraw forces and lift the naval blockade on Iranian ports while Iran would resume commerical shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
However, Washington dismissed these claims as “complete fabrication”. During a cabinet meeting at the White House President Donald Trump said: “I think it looks like they want to just make a deal. I don’t think they have a choice.
“They thought they were going to out-wait me.” The 79-year-old leader also shot down claims that the war is raging on too long.
“We’ve been doing this for a few months — Vietnam lasted 19 years, Korea lasted eight years, Afghanistan lasted many years,” he said. “They were all many, many years, and we’re into it for a few months, and I read about you people like, ‘What’s taking so long?’ But we’re in it, you know?”
