Unidentified Projectile Strikes Bulk Carrier Off Qatar As Iran Warns Retaliation Against U.S. Bases

A commercial vessel caught fire after being struck by an unidentified projectile off the coast of Qatar on Sunday, according to British maritime authorities, as Iran warned of retaliation against U.S. bases and ships.

“Naval clashes in Gulf complicate Iran-US peace efforts Tensions between Iran and the United States escalated further on Saturday as Tehran questioned Washington’s commitment to diplomacy following renewed naval confrontations in the Arabian Gulf, AzerNEWS reports”

AzerNews

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said the attack targeted a bulk carrier approximately 23 nautical miles northeast of Doha, and it caused a small fire onboard that was later extinguished with no casualties reported.

AzerNews

Kurdistan24 said the incident came as Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps navy warned on Saturday that any attack on Iranian oil tankers or commercial vessels would trigger a “heavy assault” on U.S. military bases in the region as well as “enemy ships.”

Kurdistan24 also tied the episode to wider Gulf instability despite a fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran, noting that the Strait of Hormuz has remained heavily disrupted since the outbreak of war on Feb. 28 between Iran, the United States, and Israel.

The same report said the United States Central Command stated that American forces had turned back 58 commercial ships and disabled four vessels since the blockade began on April 13.

DW reported that Donald Trump notified Congress on time on March 2 for the Iran war, but a second deadline is approaching because a military operation is only permitted to last 60 days without approval from members of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

DW said the 60-day deadline expires on May 1, and if a solution to the war has not been negotiated between Washington and Tehran by then, the president will have to take further steps to legitimize his military operation against Iran.

Daily Beirut

DW explained that the war powers resolution of 1973 requires the president, “in every possible instance,” to “consult with Congress before introducing United States Armed Forces.”

DW also described a possible 30-day extension, saying the president could extend the original 60-day period once, by an additional 30 days, and quoted Stormy-Annika Mildner saying, “I assume that Trump will make use of the additional 30-day period.”

In Islamabad, the Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Iran’s delegation put forward “constructive initiatives and looking to the future,” while arguing that “the time has come for America to decide whether it can win Tehran's trust.”

الشرق said the talks between the United States and Iran ended in the early hours of Sunday after nearly a full day without reaching an agreement, after U.S. Vice President J. D. Vance said the session ended without an agreement because of the Iranian stance.

Ghalibaf wrote on X that before the talks he stressed Iran had good faith, but “we do not trust the other side because of experiences of two previous wars,” and he added that the United States must decide whether it is capable of winning Iran’s trust.

The same source reported that Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ismail Baqai said Tehran reached an agreement with the American side on a number of points, while differences persisted on two important issues, including the “Hormuz Strait issue” that was added in these negotiations.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told reporters his country “will continue to facilitate dialogue” between the United States and Iran in the days ahead, and he said he, together with General Asim Munir, helped mediate negotiations that lasted over the past 24 hours and ended this morning.