DUBAI — Iran launched a drone assault targeting Bahrain while a ship in the Strait of Hormuz separately came under attack Saturday, in what is probably Tehran’s response to overnight airstrikes by the United States.
The attacks in the Persian Gulf show the danger of the Iran war again spinning out of control after Iran and the U.S. reached an interim deal in pursuit of a final accord to end the conflict.
The U.S. had launched airstrikes overnight in response to an Iranian drone attack on a container ship trying to leave the strait Thursday, continuing a string of strikes that have shaken the war’s uneasy ceasefire.
Meanwhile, a multinational maritime body overseen by the U.S. Navy said Saturday that it would expand a route near Oman in the strait to allow for inbound and outbound traffic. That probably sets up a new focus of tension with Tehran, whose control over the strait is a key source of leverage in the talks with the U.S.
Bahrain condemns attack
Bahrain has been one of the strongest critics of Iran and is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet. It just hosted U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio for a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council’s foreign ministers, which ended with a call for an end to Iran’s attacks and for the strait to be completely open.
A statement from Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry said that a “number of Iranian drones” targeted the country. It called the attack “a flagrant threat to the security of citizens and residents.” There were no immediate reports of damage.
Iran’s paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps earlier Saturday issued a statement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency saying it had targeted several locations “of the U.S. terrorist army in the region.” It did not name what areas were targeted.
The U.S. military’s Central Command said the military struck Iranian missile and drone locations and coastal radar sites in the overnight strikes.
Vice President JD Vance, who has led the negotiations with Iran, said on social media Friday night that Iran should “pick up the phone” if there are disagreements about the ceasefire agreement, “but violence will be met with violence.”
The U.S. and Iran are negotiating terms of the deal including issues such as getting ships through the strait, which is vital to global supplies of oil and natural gas and addressing the future of Iran’s nuclear program and stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
Under the interim deal, the two sides have 60 days to work out the details. Ending the fighting in Lebanon between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group is a key part of the deal.
Ship attacked in strait
The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said that a tanker was attacked Saturday in the Strait of Hormuz, with the crew safe and no environmental damage reported. No one immediately claimed the strike, but suspicion fell on Iran.
Just after that report, the Joint Maritime Information Center, overseen by the U.S. Navy, said the route near Oman’s shore is expanding to allow for inbound and outbound traffic.
Iran has insisted that ships must obey its orders and warned it will start charging fees for transit through the strait. However, ships have been increasingly trying to leave the gulf in recent days.
Ebrahim Azizi, who heads the Iranian parliament’s national security commission, wrote Friday that “the Strait of Hormuz is governed by Iran, so: Respect the rules.”
The U.S. and gulf Arab states have rejected Iran’s demands. The strait is considered an international waterway, despite being the territorial waters of Iran and Oman.
The Joint Maritime Information Center warned that the threat to ships was “substantial,” adding that “mariners are advised of the existence of mines and should expect a naval presence as clearance operations continue.”
The International Maritime Organization on Friday halted a new effort to evacuate ships and said it won’t resume until there are guarantees that the other ships won’t be attacked. It said about 115 vessels have been able to move out of the strait in recent days.
Gambrell writes for the Associated Press.
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