O Iran bombed Kuwait and Bahrainthis Sunday (28), in response to (27), a resumption of tensions which puts negotiations to end the war in the Middle East at risk.
Os two countries accuse each other of violating the ceasefireagreed in a memorandum of understanding signed on June 17, regarding control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which Iran blocked during the war declared on it by Israel and the United States on February 28.
The strait was reopened on June 17, but Iran only authorizes the use of a passage corridor along its coast and threatens to attack any ship that does not comply with this condition.
On Saturday, the US Air Force attacked ten targetsincluding “air defense facilities, drone depots and infrastructure for laying mines”, reported US Central Command (Centcom), in response to an Iranian drone attack against a Panamanian-flagged oil tanker passing through the strait.
Iranian media reported several explosions nas regions on the Sirik and Qeshm.
This Sunday morning, the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological army of the Islamic Republic, claimed to have launched missiles and drones against Kuwait and Bahrain in retaliation.
According to the Guard, they destroyed “eight major U.S. military infrastructure facilities at Ali al-Salem air base in Kuwait and the Fifth Fleet naval base at Port Salman in Bahrain.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry “strongly” condemned the attacks “against several monitoring and surveillance facilities on the southern coast” and expressed Tehran’s “determination” “to defend the country’s national sovereignty.”
Kuwait denounced “the repetition of cruel Iranian aggression” and stated that this “compromises” efforts to end the war in the Middle East.
In Bahrain, where warning sirens sounded twice during the night, the army indicated that it “intercepted and destroyed several projectiles used in these treacherous Iranian attacks”.
The United States had already bombed Iran on Friday for the first time since the signing of the agreement’s protocol, which began a 60-day negotiation period aimed at achieving lasting peace.
According to the American army, this bombing was also the result of another attack against a merchant ship sailing through the strait.
‘More firmness’
The Revolutionary Guard emphasized this Sunday that “measures have been taken” to control traffic in the strait. “From now on, violating vessels will be dealt with more firmly,” they warned.
Before the war, 20% of the world’s hydrocarbons passed through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran “Once AGAIN violated the ceasefire agreement”, denounced American President Donald Trump on Saturday on his Truth Social platform.
“It is very likely (…) that one day (…) we will be forced to complete, by military force, the mission we began with so much success. If this happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will cease to exist,” he added.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Baghdad on Sunday, where he warned that questioning Tehran’s control of the strait will only “increase tensions” in the region and cause “delays” in its reopening.
“I urge all parties not to interfere in the management of the strait (…) and not to let the memorandum of understanding be undermined,” he added. He also called for the creation of a security framework with the Gulf countries.
Attacks in Lebanon
On the other front of the war, in Lebanon, Israel continued bombing the south, despite a preliminary agreement signed on Friday (26) in Washington by both countries with the aim of establish a “lasting peace”.
Lebanese state news agency NNA reported new shelling in the south on Sunday, a day after other Israeli attacks left one dead, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
The leader of the pro-Iran Hezbollah movement, Naim Qasem, denounced the preliminary agreement as a “serious error”, calling it “humiliating and shameful”, and accused the Lebanese authorities of “legitimizing [com ele] the continuation of the Israeli occupation.”
Hassan Fadlallah, deputy for the Shiite party, declared this Sunday that the preliminary agreement signed on Friday by Lebanon and Israel under the auspices of the United States “will not be implemented”, and warned of the risk of an “internal conflict”.
However, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun spoke to Donald Trump on Saturday and assured him that the Lebanese State would “assume its responsibilities” in implementing the agreement, which conditions Israeli withdrawal from the country on the disarmament of Hezbollah.
Lebanon was drawn into the conflict in early March when Hezbollah attacked Israel in support of Iran.
