US attacks missile sites in Iran, despite ceasefire
US Central Command said its forces conducted self-defence strikes in southern Iran to protect US troops from threats posed by Iranian forces
Smoke rises over the southern Lebanese village of Sultaniyeh after an Israeli airstrike. (AFP pic)
WASHINGTON: US forces attacked missile sites in southern Iran and boats trying to lay mines on Monday, US Central Command said, as top Iranian negotiators arrived in Doha for talks to end the war.
“US forces conducted self-defence strikes in southern Iran today to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces,” Tim Hawkins, a US Central Command spokesman, said in a statement.
It gave no details of the attacks and said only that the targets included missile launch sites and boats trying to “emplace mines”.
The strikes threatened an already fragile ceasefire that began April 8 as the US and Iran struggle to reach an accord to end a war that has rattled the global economy with a severe disruption of energy flows.
Hopes for an accord in recent days were dealt another blow when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “crush” Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Iran has demanded that any peace accord apply to the fighting in Lebanon as well.
Trump also said in a social media post he expected Iran to hand over its enriched uranium to the US to be destroyed, or have it destroyed in Iran with an international witness.
“The Enriched Uranium (Nuclear Dust!) will either be immediately turned over to the US to be brought home and destroyed or, preferably, in conjunction and coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran, destroyed in place or, at another acceptable location, with the Atomic Energy Commission, or its equivalent, being witness to this process and event,” Trump wrote.
It was not clear whether he meant this is part of an emerging accord with Iran.
The Atomic Energy Commission that Trump cited was abolished in 1974 and its functions were divided between two successor bodies.
Earlier Monday, Trump said it should be mandatory for Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Pakistan, Egypt, Turkey, Bahrain and Jordan to sign up to the Abraham Accords, a set of agreements brokered in 2020 with nations historically hostile to Israel, as part of a peace deal with Iran.
Trump said he had spoken to the leaders of those countries Saturday about efforts to end the war with Iran.
Bahrain and the UAE have already signed the accords, along with Morocco and Sudan.
US and Iranian forces have observed a ceasefire since April 8 while diplomats push for a negotiated settlement, although Iran has maintained controls on Gulf shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the US Navy has sought to blockade Iran’s ports.
While the Abraham Accords were welcomed by some, they remain deeply unpopular in many parts of the Middle East – in part because they fail to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Gulf heavyweights like Saudi Arabia and Qatar have said they will never normalise ties with Israel unless an independent Palestinian state is created.
‘Going crazy’
Anna Jacobs of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington said Trump’s latest demand added to the disaster that has been the war on all fronts for Gulf nations.
“The national security of the Gulf states has been threatened more than ever before because of President Trump’s reckless decisions, and he expects Arab states to thank him and to normalise relations with Israel, which they will not do at this stage,” she said.
“These expectations and assumptions from this US administration shows how little they understand the Middle East,” she added.
Trump’s maximalist demand came after state secretary Marco Rubio suggested a deal could be reached within the day, causing world oil prices to tumble based on renewed optimism about an agreement.
“We thought we might have some news last night, maybe today,” Rubio told reporters during a visit to New Delhi, referring to hopes for a deal.
However, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei poured cold water on hopes for a quick final settlement.
“It is correct to say that we have reached a conclusion on a large portion of the issues under discussion,” he told a weekly news briefing.
“But to say that this means the signing of an agreement is imminent – no one can make such a claim,” he added.
‘Critical moment’
On another front of the war, Netanyahu said Monday that he had ordered the military to intensify its offensive in Lebanon in an effort to “crush” Hezbollah, accusing the group of targeting Israeli forces with drone attacks.
“I have ordered an even greater acceleration of our operations,” Netanyahu said in a video statement posted on his Telegram channel.
The Israeli leader said Sunday that he and Trump had agreed that “any final agreement with Iran must eliminate the nuclear threat entirely” before peace was reached.
Iranian officials have stressed that, despite the long-standing US demand for an end to its uranium enrichment, talks on the issue of the Islamic republic’s nuclear program have been deferred until after an initial agreement.
“US forces conducted self-defence strikes in southern Iran today to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces,” Tim Hawkins, a US Central Command spokesman, said in a statement.
It gave no details of the attacks and said only that the targets included missile launch sites and boats trying to “emplace mines”.
The strikes threatened an already fragile ceasefire that began April 8 as the US and Iran struggle to reach an accord to end a war that has rattled the global economy with a severe disruption of energy flows.
Hopes for an accord in recent days were dealt another blow when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “crush” Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Iran has demanded that any peace accord apply to the fighting in Lebanon as well.
Trump also said in a social media post he expected Iran to hand over its enriched uranium to the US to be destroyed, or have it destroyed in Iran with an international witness.
“The Enriched Uranium (Nuclear Dust!) will either be immediately turned over to the US to be brought home and destroyed or, preferably, in conjunction and coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran, destroyed in place or, at another acceptable location, with the Atomic Energy Commission, or its equivalent, being witness to this process and event,” Trump wrote.
It was not clear whether he meant this is part of an emerging accord with Iran.
The Atomic Energy Commission that Trump cited was abolished in 1974 and its functions were divided between two successor bodies.
Earlier Monday, Trump said it should be mandatory for Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Pakistan, Egypt, Turkey, Bahrain and Jordan to sign up to the Abraham Accords, a set of agreements brokered in 2020 with nations historically hostile to Israel, as part of a peace deal with Iran.
Trump said he had spoken to the leaders of those countries Saturday about efforts to end the war with Iran.
Bahrain and the UAE have already signed the accords, along with Morocco and Sudan.
US and Iranian forces have observed a ceasefire since April 8 while diplomats push for a negotiated settlement, although Iran has maintained controls on Gulf shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the US Navy has sought to blockade Iran’s ports.
While the Abraham Accords were welcomed by some, they remain deeply unpopular in many parts of the Middle East – in part because they fail to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Gulf heavyweights like Saudi Arabia and Qatar have said they will never normalise ties with Israel unless an independent Palestinian state is created.
‘Going crazy’
Anna Jacobs of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington said Trump’s latest demand added to the disaster that has been the war on all fronts for Gulf nations.
“The national security of the Gulf states has been threatened more than ever before because of President Trump’s reckless decisions, and he expects Arab states to thank him and to normalise relations with Israel, which they will not do at this stage,” she said.
“These expectations and assumptions from this US administration shows how little they understand the Middle East,” she added.
Trump’s maximalist demand came after state secretary Marco Rubio suggested a deal could be reached within the day, causing world oil prices to tumble based on renewed optimism about an agreement.
“We thought we might have some news last night, maybe today,” Rubio told reporters during a visit to New Delhi, referring to hopes for a deal.
However, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei poured cold water on hopes for a quick final settlement.
“It is correct to say that we have reached a conclusion on a large portion of the issues under discussion,” he told a weekly news briefing.
“But to say that this means the signing of an agreement is imminent – no one can make such a claim,” he added.
‘Critical moment’
On another front of the war, Netanyahu said Monday that he had ordered the military to intensify its offensive in Lebanon in an effort to “crush” Hezbollah, accusing the group of targeting Israeli forces with drone attacks.
“I have ordered an even greater acceleration of our operations,” Netanyahu said in a video statement posted on his Telegram channel.
The Israeli leader said Sunday that he and Trump had agreed that “any final agreement with Iran must eliminate the nuclear threat entirely” before peace was reached.
Iranian officials have stressed that, despite the long-standing US demand for an end to its uranium enrichment, talks on the issue of the Islamic republic’s nuclear program have been deferred until after an initial agreement.
Very Aneh.
ReplyDeleteIn 1965 Arab leaders never mention a Homeland, a State, for Falastinos.
They Only Want the Death and Destruction of Isaacs.
On This Day — May 25, 1965
“The Arab national aim is the elimination of Israel.”
That was the official joint declaration of Iraq’s President Abdul Rahman Aref and Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser.
Arab leaders spoke with brutal honesty, year after year:
- “We will liquidate her.” (Nasser, 1961)
- “We shall only accept war ... We resolved to drench this land with our blood to oust you ... and throw you into the sea.” (Hafez Assad, 1966)
- “The war with Israel is in effect since 1948.” (Aref, 1967)
Look at the map below.
A tiny Jewish state, surrounded on every border by neighbors who openly vowed to wipe it off the map. By mid-1967: nearly half a million Arab troops, thousands of tanks, and hundreds of aircraft massed against Israel. Peacekeeping forces expelled. Straits of Tiran closed. Constant terror.
Israel was living on borrowed time.
On June 5, 1967, Israel stopped waiting for permission to survive.
In six days, it launched one of the most decisive military victories in history — and saved itself from annihilation.
When your enemies repeatedly declare their goal is your total destruction, you don’t hope for the best.
You act. You survive. You win.
https://x.com/CptAllenHistory/status/2059005331825647833?s=20
Mfer, the only way to eliminate a malignant cancer from evolving further ahead, is to completely kill ALL the cancerous cells sans mercy!
DeleteIn tye land of Levant, the zionist state is that cancer.
Ha3 tak ada kerja lain ah??
ReplyDeleteBREAKING - Malaysia to take Israel to the ICJ over the torture of Greta Thunberg and cases of rape to other activities
memang buat betul
Delete🚨 JUST IN: Iran was STRUCK by the US after the IRGC got caught laying MINES in the Strait of Hormuz
ReplyDeleteThe strikes took place in Bandar Abbas, home to a key Iranian base
Missile launch sites were also blasted to smithereens.
https://x.com/EricLDaugh/status/2059049451352723548?s=20
Fox is reporting this is NOT an end of the ceasefire, as of right now
Iran doesn't want to go down this road!
ooop… u only read yankee fart
DeleteWhy were they laying mines if they say they want to open the straits?
ReplyDeleteditto
DeleteIran was carrying out treachery in the FIRST place by laying mines in the Straits of Hormuz amidst the ceasefire, so the Wankees had a perfect right to take them out.
ReplyDeleteOooop… u r buying into that yankee mfering story.
DeleteSuch a simpleton gullible gullie! Or just what master says, goes!