Gulf states may be covertly encouraging attacks by US, Iran foreign minister says

Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi claimed that some Gulf states hosting US forces may be covertly encouraging the slaughter of Iranians, in a thinly-veiled attack on Saudi Arabia.

“Some Gulf states hosting US forces may be covertly encouraging the slaughter of Iranians, Iran’s foreign minister has claimed in a thinly-veiled attack on Saudi Arabia”

The Guardian

He demanded clarification on reports that Mohammed bin Salman was in regular private conversations with Donald Trump, urging the US president 'to continue hitting the Iranians hard'.

The Guardian

Araghchi was responding to the second US media report in a week claiming the Saudi crown prince’s public opposition to the US attacks on Iran did not reflect his private position.

'Stances should be promptly clarified,' he said in a post on X after stating that hundreds of civilians had been killed in US-Israeli attacks, including more than 200 children.

Iran escalated its attacks on Monday with drone strikes in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, in one of its most comprehensive sets of assaults since the war started.

It vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed indefinitely to 'enemies and those supporting their aggression'.

The Guardian

There were signs that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) were tightening their grip inside the country after the appointment of an uncompromising hardliner, Mohsen Rezaee, as military adviser to the supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei.

Rezaee, a former IRGC commander for 16 years, played a key role during the bloody Iran-Iraq war.

He said there should be no ceasefire until the US agreed to vacate its military bases in the Middle East, further consolidating the IRGC's influence.

The Iranian death toll headed towards 1,500 after neighbourhoods across Tehran suffered one of the most intense bombardments since the start of the war, with electricity grid infrastructure being hit and power being temporarily lost in eastern parts of the capital.

“Some Gulf states hosting US forces may be covertly encouraging the slaughter of Iranians, Iran’s foreign minister has claimed in a thinly-veiled attack on Saudi Arabia”

The Guardian

The mayor of Tehran, Alireza Zakani, said the capital had suffered 13,000 separate attacks, more than half of the total attacks on Iran.

Parts of the Tehran metro were suspended.

Censorship inside Iran, including the internet blackout, has become more intense over the past 48 hours with newspapers and telegram channels becoming largely inaccessible.

Speaking at his weekly morning press conference, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, said that 'vessels belonging to countries not involved in the war have been allowed to transit the strait of Hormuz with coordination and permission from Iran’s military'.

Two Indian-flagged gas tankers bound for Gujaraet have been allowed to pass through the strait after direct talks between Iran and India, but no blanket agreement has been reached for future passage for Indian ships.

The Guardian

Iranian officials were delighted that Trump had received a largely negative response with his call to seven countries, including China, France and the UK to join a US-led coalition in helping to open the strait of Hormuz.

Any fissures in the US-European relations are being seized upon by Iranian officials and media as a sign that Trump’s unilateral war, in which no country but Israel had any prior input, will not be endorsed.