US-Iran War Explodes: Blasts, Missiles In Qatar, Several US Jets 'Destroyed' | Firstpost America

West Asia is witnessing its most dangerous moment in months. What began as a direct standoff between the United States and Iran is now spreading across the region, with more countries being pulled into the conflict. The latest flashpoint is Jordan, where Iran's Revolutionary Guards claim to have struck U.S. military aircraft stationed there using ballistic missiles and drones. Tehran says several refueling aircraft and fighter jets were destroyed, while others were damaged. For the sixth night in a row, the United States carried out major airstrikes inside Iran. The U.S. military said the operation was aimed at weakening Iran's military capabilities. U.S. Central Command said the targets included coastal surveillance sites, air defense positions, logistics facilities and maritime assets. Iran, however, said the attacks also hit civilian infrastructure. Iranian media reported strikes on bridges, a railway station, an airport and other civilian facilities in the south of the country. Many of the attacks were reported around Bandar Abbas, a key port city on the Strait of Hormuz. Iran says at least 38 people have been killed and more than 400 others injured since the latest round of U.S. strikes began, after talks in Switzerland broke down. Iran has responded with a fresh wave of missile and drone attacks. The impact was felt across the Gulf region. Incidents were reported in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Oman and Syria. Qatar confirmed that its air defense systems intercepted missiles fired towards the country. In Bahrain, air raid sirens were activated as authorities urged residents to remain calm. Iran also claimed it targeted a U.S. military base in Kuwait, hitting a missile defense radar, weapons depots and missile launchers. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard further claimed it struck a U.S. special operations center at al-Tanf in Syria and destroyed two U.S. radar sites in Oman. These claims, however, were rejected by a Syrian military source. The conflict is also disrupting shipping in the Gulf. A tanker off the coast of Oman was hit by an unknown projectile and the ship suffered minor damage and all crew members were unhurt. The U.S. military also said its forces boarded the ship and redirected three vessels as part of its renewed blockade of Iranian ports. At the center of the crisis is the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important oil and gas routes. Iran has warned that the waterway will not return to normal as long as the conflict continues. The criminal United States continues its lawlessness and its efforts to destabilize the region. First, we once again stress that under no circumstances and in no way will we allow the United States, as a foreign and extra-regional country, to interfere in the Strait of Hormuz. This is Iran's inviolable red line. Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts continue. China and Pakistan have called on all sides to return to the negotiating table. The White House says President Trump remains open to diplomacy, even as U.S. military operations continue. Iran, however, says any future agreement must protect its national security interests. If we look at the 14 provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding, the Americans have, in one way or another, mutilated various parts of it in this short period. From the outset, we said commitments would be met with commitments. We will fulfill our obligations only as long as the other side abides by its commitments. We have demonstrated that in practice. Wherever the other side has violated the agreement, we have not implemented our commitments. As missiles and drones continue to fly across the region, fears of a wider West Asia war are growing. With no clear signs of de-escalation, the next few days could prove critical, not just for West Asia, but for global security as well. For more on this, now we have with us Anabas Al-Sudani, who is a Chevening Scholar at the London School of Economics and Political Science, joining us live from London. Welcome to the programme. Reportedly, there have been U.S. strikes on civilian infrastructure in Iran. The human rights chief, Volker Turk, has said that deliberately attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure, I should say, is a war crime. So what do you make of the current situation? Hi. Thank you for having me here. It's a pleasure. Well, to understand the whole situation, we need to get a step back to understand the beginnings and the basics of the whole situation. And to understand the reaction, we need to understand the action, whomever is doing the action and whoever is reacting to that. So for example, if we look at Iran's collaborated strikes that reveal the strategic logic of the escalation, to understand that, we need to see what Iran is attacking and what it's not attacking. So for example, Iran struck a satellite antenna in Qatar, a tanker on a disputed shipping route, a Patriot in Kuwait, a fuel tank in Bahrain. But Iran did not attack Qatar's LNG facilities, for example, that literally secure 20 percent of the global gas. Iran did not attack U.S. embassy or Iran did not attack, for example, Al-Adeed Air Base in Qatar. And that shows something about managing the conflict. However, the United States, on the other hand, is attacking these specific sites. For example, they literally attacked, as you mentioned, human crisis, attacked civilians, and they attacked the routes to Bandar Abbas, trying to isolate Bandar Abbas, which shows some kind of a predictability for land intervention and so on. However, the whole situation has been developing in a different route. From my point of view, the war reached a point two months ago where neutral bargaining started. Then the neutral bargaining itself was developed into a coercive bargaining. Then I said a week ago approximately the coercive bargaining itself was developed into a coercive diplomacy. However, due to these recent developments, the coercive diplomacy itself evolved into what I can describe now sustained coercive diplomacy. That's being said, both two sides are trying to get to more terms, and I believe they are trying to talk even more. However, they are using this coercive policy to achieve more terms and conditions in the talks. Okay, let me just jump in there if I may. Just one moment. If I may jump in there. Given what you say there, I mean, Iran is unlikely to give up its leverage over the Strait of Hormuz. So how far will America go, and what is Donald Trump's way out of this? Well, this is a very interesting point. Thank you for triggering this. And here I would describe it as what I call Hormuz dilemma. And there is a dilemma that is affecting Trump administration, and Trump administration is literally facing this strategic dilemma. So if Trump administration pushes for Iran's public surrounding on Hormuz, as some U.S. officials mentioned, we want the best framing, this framing, that will prolong the conflict identically. And if the U.S. accepts a workable deal that preserves Iranian leverage, which validates the coercive extraction Tehran has demonstrated, so both paths cost. It's neither delivers, neither paths delivers victory. So I would say the conflict can never be winnable. It only might be manageable. And what Trump said, until I say, I think he mentioned that yesterday, the war will continue until I say, shows how the dilemma is affecting Trump, and Trump is literally trapped, Trump administration is trapped, and they cannot reach a solvable resolution for the war. So it is a dilemma. And the U.S. and Iran are trying to get more terms in the negotiations, because, however, the situation now cannot be resolved. Right. Well, let me ask you this then. I mean, the Gulf nations seem to be bearing the brunt of Iranian retaliation. With oil and gas prices continuing to rise again, world economies may still face significant issues with this going forward. That's 100 percent accurate. So Hormuz uncertainty has transferred. It was this uncertainty was seasonal, was temporary. Now it's structural. Now Hormuz is a very massive question mark for this situation and for the future. The IEEE is projecting, like they literally said, the first oil demand decline since 2020, since the pandemic. The World Bank is warning of persistent global economic drag. The three choke points that dominate the whole, like, half of the world economy, the Strait of Hormuz, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, and the Suez Canal. And Iran is approximately containing or controlling both of them. The Strait of Hormuz is already being tooled, and Bab-el-Mandeb Iran can reach through their proxies and the Houthis if they activated them. However, now we are struggling with 20 to 30 percent of the global economy. And this 30 percent can jump to 50 to 52 percent if they use their other golden cars, if I can call them. And here there are two tires that are mostly affected by this escalation economically. So Asian powers, and here I need to emphasize on China, which imparts 40 percent of its crude oil through Hormuz, India 35 to 40 percent, Japan 70 to 80 percent, and then the Gulf States countries, and then tire-sea European countries. And ironically, the less affected directly economically from Hormuz closure is the U.S. So the world generally is facing this economical damage that the whole world need to cooperate and find a solution for Hormuz. And from my point of view, Iran will never give a full absolute liberty on the Strait of Hormuz. And that's why I called it Hormuz dilemma. Okay, we'll leave it there, Al-Abbas. Al-Sudani, thank you very much indeed for your insights and for joining us here on First Post. 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