Unclaimed strikes hit southern Iran
Dubai: Mysterious, unclaimed airstrikes that hit Iran after the U.S. said it finished its attacks have again raised questions of who else may be targeting
Dubai: Mysterious, unclaimed airstrikes that hit Iran after the U.S. said it finished its attacks have again raised questions of who else may be targeting the Islamic Republic.The strikes Thursday, just as Iran prepared to bury the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, hit areas across southern Iran. The country's theocracy hasn't directly blamed anyone, though one lawmaker warned the United Arab Emirates about allegedly providing support to the U.S. campaign against Iran.Gulf Arab states, which Iran has targeted repeatedly since the war began Feb. 28, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday over the strikes. The attacks come as those Gulf nations and the U.S. insist that the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for world energy markets, must be open and free to ships to transit.Iran says the strait must now be under its sole control and that vessels should begin to pay fees to Tehran - even though the world for decades has considered it an international waterway. About a fifth of all traded oil and natural gas passed through the strait before the war began.Iran's grip on the strait during the conflict led to an global energy crisis, though oil prices have sharply dropped since wartime highs of $120 a barrel.Israel, which took part in the Iran war, also has not claimed any recent attacks on Iran.Unclaimed strikes came after US ended its attacksThe U.S. military's Central Command said Thursday around 6:30 a.m. local Iran time that it had concluded a round of strikes that hit 90 targets.
Shortly after that, Iranian news outlets and state media reported a series of airstrikes and explosions targeting the country's Bushehr and Sistan and Baluchestan provinces, the cities of Ahvaz and Chabahar and other areas.Central Command did not respond to a request for comment about the additional strikes.Iran responded to the strikes Thursday by launching a wider volley of attacks across the Mideast, targeting Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar. Missile alert sirens sounded in the four countries, sending people to seek shelter. One person was reportedly hurt in Kuwait as air defense systems targeted the incoming fire across the region.The leader of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, traveled to Kuwait immediately after the Iranian attack for a meeting with the small, oil-rich nation's ruling emir. Gulf Arab countries also held calls with Qatar's foreign minister. He has been deeply involved, along with Pakistan, in mediating talks between Iran and the U.S. over the interim deal now in place to halt the return of open warfare.During the Iran war, officials said both Saudi Arabia and the UAE launched airstrikes targeting Iran, after Tehran struck energy sites in their countries.Israel, which under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has engaged in an intense campaign against Iran, has not attacked the Islamic Republic since June.
The BriefWire