Full story
Strikes as talks wobble
The U.S. military said Friday it fired on another merchant vessel trying to breach its blockade of Iran’s ports, while the Islamic Republic targeted American strongholds around the Persian Gulf during a 13th straight night of strikes.
“US missiles have struck targets across Iran and President Donald Trump has vowed "major military punishment" for Tehran and its Houthi allies in Yemen, though he has again left open the door to a diplomatic deal with Iran”
U.S. Central Command disabled the M/T Lavine in the Gulf of Oman after the ship attempted to run the blockade at least four times, and Capt. Tim Hawkins said the crew was warned and didn’t comply before the military fired into its engine room.
In the Oval Office on Friday, President Donald Trump described negotiations with Iran as “by far the most serious that we’ve seen,” even as the U.S. launched daily strikes and said it was “not in a hurry” to end the war.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi vowed that Iran “will not bow to U.S.” bullying and warned in an interview with Tasnim that the Islamic Republic is “neither intimidated by threats nor will we yield to pressure.”
Regional bases hit
As U.S. strikes continued, security officials in Irbil said U.S.-led forces shot down five explosives-laden drones, with repeated blasts echoing and plumes of black smoke seen near its airport where U.S. forces are based.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it targeted the U.S. base in Udairi, Kuwait, destroying three ammunition and storage sheds, and it also claimed to have struck a watchtower for the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet based in Bahrain.
The BBC reported that Iran said it carried out drone strikes on U.S. military facilities and bases across the Middle East in retaliation for the 13th consecutive night of American attacks, and it said sirens sounded in Bahrain and Jordan.
In response to the U.S. plan to use frozen Iranian assets to pay for war damages, the BBC quoted Abbas Araghchi saying seizing another country’s assets to “pay for unrelated future claims is an incendiary precedent.”
What’s at stake next
The conflict’s next phase hinges on whether the U.S. expands beyond shipping and bases, after Trump told reporters “There’s two ways” and said the administration could keep “doing exactly what we’re doing” or “negotiate with them, which we’re also doing right now.”
“US military says it fired on another merchant vessel trying to breach its blockade of Iranian ports US military says it fired on another merchant vessel trying to breach its blockade of Iranian ports IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — The U”
NBC News reported that the U.S. completed a 13th straight night of strikes at 9 p.m. ET Thursday, targeting “Iranian military command centers, drone storage facilities, communication networks, coastal surveillance sites, and maritime capabilities.”
The BBC said the U.S. and Iran agreed on a 14-point Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in June to halt military operations and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but Trump declared the ceasefire “over” after Iranian attacks on ships in the strait and U.S. strikes in response.
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively shut by attacks, the AP said the passage has been “effectively shut down,” sending fuel prices soaring and causing widespread economic turmoil as both sides signaled escalation was possible.
