Dubai: The United States struck Iranian targets early on Sunday in retaliation for an Iranian assault on a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran appeared to retaliate with strikes aimed at Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, AP reported.
The renewed exchange of fire in the Persian Gulf erupted after US President Donald Trump said an interim deal and ceasefire in the Iran war was “over.”
“Iran made a poor choice. Now they pay,” US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote
online.
The United Arab Emirates issued a public warning on Sunday about an incoming missile and drone attack as explosions were heard in nearby Qatar. Shortly after the blasts, Qatar issued a missile alert.
Missile warnings were also sounded in Bahrain, the island kingdom in the Persian Gulf that hosts the US Navy’s 5th Fleet.
It was unclear which areas of the UAE had been struck; authorities had not included the country among Iran’s previously named targets in this latest bout of attacks.
US Central Command said a Cyprus-flagged container ship in the Strait of Hormuz was hit by Iranian forces, sustaining “significant engine room damage,” and that a civilian crew member was missing.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said several vessels “disregarded our warnings and instructions to correct their course and proceed along the approved route.” The statement said one ship “was struck by a warning shot and brought to a stop.”
Iran announced the strait would stay closed “until further notice” and warned it might target “additional enemy bases in the region” if it came under more attacks.