New Delhi (India) July 15: The conflict between the United States and Iran enters another dangerous stage on Wednesday as air strikes, commercial shipping attacks and diplomatic tensions escalate around the Gulf, putting to rest lingering hopes that the tenuous interim peace deal reached last month will be salvaged.
US Reimposes Naval Blockade on Iran
The US reinvoked a naval blockade on Iran and also escalated its air strikes there, announcing the step in response to attacks by Tehran on ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz, further damaging the deal signed to put on hold tensions between the two sides as a wider conflict brewed over the chokepoint waterway, according to reports. The blockade was put in place by the US and lifted last month following the signing of the temporary agreement.
US Launches Fourth Day of Air Strikes
US President Donald Trump convened an all-day meeting of national security and defence personnel at the White House on Wednesday to consider broadening operations against Iran and launching attacks outside of the operations round the Strait of Hormuz, as per Axios.
Trump’s meeting came as the US launched the fourth consecutive day of strikes targeting Iranian air defence systems, radars and positions of anti-ship missiles and drones around the Strait of Hormuz and on the southern coast of the country. The strikes are designed to diminish the capability of the Iranian forces that would prevent or hinder commercial traffic from transiting through one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
Iran Strikes US Bases in Bahrain and Jordan
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) stated that it struck US military positions in Bahrain and Jordan in retaliation, targeting command, control, infrastructure and military aircraft facilities. The drone and missile strikes precisely targeted key US command centers, air force facilities and military aircraft shelters containing various types of fighter jets and advanced strategic drones at the air base of al-Azraq in Jordan in response to renewed American aggression,” Iran’s official IRNA news agency quoted the IRGC as saying in a statement, citing attacks on F-15, F-16 and F-35 fighter jets and MQ-9 strategic drones.
The IRGC accused the United States of using Jordan as a launching pad for its operations against Iran. The IRGC said much of the US military operations targeting Iran were conducted by American bases in Jordan and urged Jordanian residents to expel American troops and prevent the use of its territory to attack Muslim countries.