American forces hit additional Iranian military targets Tuesday after a broader operation against missile, drone, coastal defense and maritime sites, while attacks on Gulf states and three oil tankers heightened fears of a wider regional war.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The United States carried out additional military strikes against Iran on Tuesday as fighting spread across the Gulf, with Iranian attacks condemned by Qatar and three oil tankers targeted in separate incidents off Oman’s coast.
A U.S. official told Reuters that American forces conducted a limited number of follow-up strikes against Iranian military sites to eliminate what the official described as “emerging threats.”
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, declined to identify the targets or provide further operational details.
Those attacks followed a much larger wave of U.S. strikes earlier Tuesday against Iranian coastal defenses, missile and drone installations and maritime capabilities.
The U.S. military said targets were struck across Iran, including at Bushehr, Chah Bahar, Jask, Konarak, Abu Musa and Bandar Abbas.
The operation focused heavily on military assets connected to Iran’s ability to threaten commercial vessels and conduct attacks in and around the Persian Gulf.
President Donald Trump said later Tuesday that Iran had been substantially weakened during the conflict and was no longer in a position to exert the same level of influence over neighboring Iraq.
Speaking at the White House alongside newly installed Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, Trump described Tehran as a destabilizing force that had long constrained Iraq’s political and economic development.
“Iran was a big burden on Iraq because they were the bully of the Middle East,” Trump said.
The president argued that the destruction of Iranian military capabilities had changed that relationship.
“But they’re not going to have that problem anymore, because Iran has been very much destabilized,” Trump said. “And really, their military power is just a tiny fraction of what it was just four months ago.”
Trump said the change had given Iraq greater freedom to pursue its own interests without the same pressure from Tehran.
“So they’re not going to have that problem,” he said. “I think it’s really, in a sense that’s given them freedom to do what they have to do.”
The president also tied Iran’s weakening to a major expansion of American energy investment in Iraq.
“And I think that’s one of the reasons that our oil companies are going in there at levels that have never been seen before,” Trump said.
The new American strikes occurred as Iran continued attacking countries and commercial shipping across the region.
Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a forceful condemnation Tuesday of Iranian attacks on Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait, describing them as violations of the sovereignty of all three nations.
“The State of Qatar strongly condemns the repeated Iranian attacks on the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the State of Kuwait, deeming them ‘an egregious violation’ of the sovereignty of those brotherly nations and of the international rules-based order,” the ministry said in a statement circulated Tuesday.
Qatar called for renewed efforts to prevent further escalation and protect the region from additional attacks.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stresses the critical importance of shielding the region from the consequences of unprovoked attacks and maintaining the path of dialogue, diplomacy, and de-escalation, which it says are essential to consolidating security and stability both regionally globally,” the statement said.
The Qatari government added that it “stands firmly” with Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait in any steps those countries take to defend their “sovereignty and security.”
At sea, Oman’s Maritime Security Center reported that three Liberian-flagged oil tankers were struck in separate incidents, leaving six people injured and three crew members missing.
The attacks occurred in two different areas off Oman, including waters near the Musandam Governorate and South Sharqiyah Governorate.
The Al Bahyah, owned by United Arab Emirates-based Al Bahyah Inc., was targeted approximately 9.6 nautical miles off Musandam.
Eighteen crew members were evacuated from the tanker by nearby vessels, while three others remained missing.
A Royal Navy of Oman vessel was monitoring the situation.
A second tanker, the Mombasa B, was attacked about 8.5 nautical miles off the Musandam coast.
The vessel lost engine power following the incident, according to Omani authorities.
All 21 crew members were evacuated, including six who sustained injuries of varying severity.
The third vessel, the Stolt Magnesium, was targeted approximately 40 nautical miles off South Sharqiyah, outside Oman’s territorial waters.
The attack caused a fire in the ship’s engine room.
A nearby vessel evacuated all 23 crew members, who were reported to be in “good health,” according to the Maritime Security Center.
Details of the attacks and the resulting rescue operations were shared in a separate public report.
Omani authorities did not identify who was responsible for targeting the tankers in the information provided.
The attacks nevertheless occurred amid an expanding U.S.-Iran conflict in which military installations, maritime infrastructure, commercial vessels and American allies have all come under attack.
The locations targeted by the United States demonstrate the breadth of Washington’s effort to reduce Iran’s capacity to operate along its southern coast.
Bushehr and Bandar Abbas are major coastal centers, while Chah Bahar, Jask and Konarak lie near strategically important maritime routes. Abu Musa is an Iranian-controlled island near shipping lanes in the Persian Gulf.
By attacking coastal defense systems, missile and drone sites and maritime capabilities across those areas, the U.S. military sought to weaken Iran’s ability to threaten naval forces, commercial traffic and neighboring countries.
The follow-up strikes described by the anonymous official indicate that U.S. forces continued monitoring Iranian military activity after the larger operation and acted against new threats that emerged later Tuesday.
No U.S. casualty figures or damage assessments from the American strikes were provided.
Iran’s attacks on Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait, combined with the tanker incidents off Oman, showed that the confrontation was no longer confined to direct exchanges between Washington and Tehran.
Gulf governments now face the risk of attacks on their territory, shipping corridors and energy infrastructure as the conflict widens.
Qatar’s condemnation also reflected increasing opposition among regional governments to Iranian military action, even as Doha called for diplomacy and de-escalation.
Trump presented Iran’s reduced military strength as an opportunity for Iraq to distance itself from Tehran and expand economic ties with the United States.
His remarks suggested that the administration views the military campaign not only as a means of eliminating immediate threats but also as a broader effort to weaken Iranian influence throughout the Middle East.
The president said that U.S. oil companies were entering Iraq at unprecedented levels, tying new investment to what he described as Iraq’s release from Iranian pressure.
As of Tuesday, however, the conflict continued to intensify.
American aircraft and other forces were striking Iranian military infrastructure, Iran was attacking neighboring states, tankers were being hit off Oman and regional governments were warning that sovereignty and international order were under assault.
The immediate questions now include whether the U.S. will conduct further strikes, whether Iran will continue targeting Gulf states and commercial vessels and whether diplomatic efforts can gain traction before the fighting expands further.
Original article
Comments