Violence flared anew in and around the Persian Gulf on Monday, as the United Arab Emirates said Iran had fired missiles and drones at its territory and the U.S. military said it sunk several Iranian military boats, straining the fragile cease-fire in the Middle East.
The Emirati authorities blamed Iran for attacks on a major oil port and an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, in the first such attacks since the truce began four weeks ago. Oman also reported an attack that injured two people in the coastal town of Bukha, near Emirati territory, without identifying the perpetrator.
Loud booms shook the Emirati city of Dubai as air defense missiles detonated high overhead. U.S. Central Command said it had shot down Iranian missiles and drones aimed at ships and around the strait.
It was not clear if the attacks signaled the collapse of the strained truce and a resumption of active warfare. Iran did not officially confirm or deny that it had resumed attacks, and a senior military official denied on state media that its boats had been sunk.
Iran has frequently targeted energy infrastructure in Gulf countries that host American military bases since Israel and the United States attacked in late February, beginning the war. But those attacks on Iran’s Gulf neighbors more or less came to a halt when a cease-fire went into effect on April 8.
At least three Indian citizens were injured when an Iranian drone struck an oil industrial zone in Fujairah, an Emirati port in the southern end of the Strait of Hormuz, the local authorities said. Oman, without assigning blame, said a residential building near the strait had been struck, with two people injured.
No casualties were reported in the attack on an Emirati oil tanker. South Korea’s government confirmed an explosion and fire in the same area on a ship belonging to a South Korean company, but did not say it had been attacked.
Negotiations between Iran and the United States, mediated by Pakistan, on a comprehensive deal to end the war have stalled, as both sides have drawn seemingly incompatible red lines. The Trump administration had sought to pressure Iran to end its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf with a new military operation to help commercial ships stuck in the waterway to leave.
Central Command said on Monday that several U.S. Navy vessels had steamed through the strait, and that they had accompanied a few commercial ships. Iranian officials threatened to retaliate against American warships or other vessels that sought to run their blockade.
Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for oil and gas, has rattled markets and sent energy prices skyrocketing worldwide. In response, the United States has imposed its own blockade of Iranian ports.
President Trump had initially conditioned the cease-fire with Iran on the end of the Iranian blockade. But Iran has effectively prevented most traffic from traveling through the waterway, and Tehran continues to assert that it has the right to control which ships can pass and also to assess tolls on them.
Eric Schmitt and Shirin Hakim contributed reporting.
Source:
www.nytimes.com
