DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United States launched attacks on Iran on Sunday following Iran’s strike on a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz, which resulted in a fire and a missing crew member. In retaliation, Iran targeted several countries, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, and Oman—the latter being a nation Tehran has urged to co-manage the shipping traffic in the strait.
Later on Sunday, the U.S. initiated further strikes. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported that the governor of Qeshm Island near the strait mentioned projectiles were fired at military targets without causing any casualties. Explosions were also reported in the coastal city of Bandar Abbas and in Hajiabad city to the north.
A U.S. official, who requested anonymity due to lack of authorization to discuss military operations publicly, stated that a few strikes targeted missile and air defense systems, as well as small boats of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in multiple locations around the strait, aiming to weaken Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping.
Iran and the U.S. are approaching the midpoint of their 60-day period of their interim deal intended to end the war permanently. The strait, a critical route for the global oil and natural gas supply and considered an international waterway, remains a contentious issue in negotiations that risk collapsing.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres expressed “deep concern” over the escalating situation, according to a statement.
Iran claims the strait is closed while the US disagrees
On Sunday, the U.S. military’s Central Command announced it had targeted approximately 140 sites, including missile and drone launch sites, ammunition storage, communication equipment, and other facilities. The attacks, heavier than previous ones, were meant to reduce Iran’s capacity to threaten shipping.
“We bombed the hell out of them last night,” President Donald Trump said to NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
According to semiofficial Iranian news agencies, a navy officer was killed. Iran retaliated by attacking countries in the region hosting U.S. military forces, insisting it should solely control the strait and potentially charge vessels passing through it.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, a key negotiator, tweeted, “The era of one-sided deals is OVER. We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking.”
In the past week, the U.S. has conducted three rounds of airstrikes against Iran due to Iranian attacks on ships navigating the strait via a route off Oman, aiming to avoid Iranian territorial waters.
The U.S. military and Trump maintained on Sunday that the strait remained open. Iran, however, claimed it was closed until calm was restored and threatened to target “additional enemy bases in the region” if further attacks were launched against it.
The U.S. military reported that over 140 ships had traversed the strait in the previous week. A multinational body, overseen by the U.S. Navy, indicated that traffic continued “at reduced levels” off both Oman and Iran, noting that nearly 140 vessels passed through daily before the war.
Previously, about a fifth of all traded oil and natural gas flowed through the strait. Iran’s control over it led to a global energy crisis, although oil prices have sharply dropped since reaching wartime highs of $120 a barrel.
Oman protests Iranian strike by summoning envoy
Missile alerts were activated across several Gulf Arab countries.
Qatar’s military reported intercepting incoming Iranian fire, with explosions heard in the neighboring United Arab Emirates. Qatar’s Interior Ministry stated that three individuals, including a child, sustained injuries from shrapnel during the interception of Iranian attacks, without providing further details on their condition.
Missile alerts were also triggered in Bahrain, an island nation in the Persian Gulf and home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.
Kuwait’s Defense Ministry reported damage to three “land border posts” in the north and an offshore drilling platform of the Kuwait Oil Company, injuring one platform worker.
A day after Oman and Iran held discussions regarding the strait, the Omani state news agency reported drone strikes on sites along the waterway.
In response, Oman summoned the Iranian ambassador to protest the strikes, marking the first such action since the war began, describing Iran’s actions as “irresponsible.”
Jordan’s state news agency reported that three Iranian missiles struck areas across Jordan, causing minor damage but no injuries.
Sirens also sounded in the UAE, although the government stated that missiles did not enter its territory.
Indian crew harmed by Iranian strike on ship
The U.S. Central Command reported that a Cyprus-flagged container ship was hit by Iran and suffered “significant engine room damage.”
Oman’s maritime authority rescued 23 crew members, but one remained missing. India’s Ministry of External Affairs identified the missing person as an Indian national and was collaborating with Oman to locate him.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, overseen by the British military, confirmed that the ship had been moving along Oman’s coastline.
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed that multiple vessels “disregarded our warnings” and ignored directives to follow what it described as an approved route. One vessel “was struck by a warning shot and brought to a stop.”
Iranian state media later reported U.S. strikes across the country, including in the southern province closest to the strait and military sites near Tehran.
Diplomatic discussions about the strait continue
The strait is located within Iran and Oman’s territorial waters. Oman announced on Saturday that it and Iran agreed to continue discussions about the strait “at the technical and political levels.”
Last week, Trump suggested that the interim deal in the war was “over.” However, mediators from Pakistan, Qatar, and Egypt have continued efforts to reach an agreement. A regional official involved in mediation, speaking on condition of anonymity, stated that attempts to reinforce the ceasefire continued on Sunday. Pakistan reported that its foreign minister spoke by phone with Iran’s top diplomat and urged for “de-escalation” on both sides.
Iran’s new supreme leader, who had not been seen since the war began, made his first statement on Saturday following the funeral of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, vowing that Iranians would avenge his death in the war’s initial strikes on February 28.
Such revenge, he stated, “is the will of our nation and must certainly be carried out,” Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei declared in a statement broadcast on state television.
Weissert reported from Washington. Associated Press journalists Samy Magdy in Cairo; Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel; Konstantin Toropin in Washington; Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, and Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this report.
