US-Iran war news LIVE: ‘New aggression will be met with overwhelming response,’ Tehran warns after Washington strike | Today’s news
US-Iran war news LIVE: The United States launched another wave of attacks on several targets in Iran on Saturday, as the two countries traded fresh attacks over the weekend and accused each other of violating the ceasefire that forms the basis of ongoing peace talks.
The latest US strikes followed Tehran’s attack on a container ship on Thursday. Although Washington responded with airstrikes on Friday, Iran attacked another vessel carrying Qatari oil on Saturday. “Iran was given a chance to abide by the ceasefire agreement but chose not to,” the US military’s Central Command said in a statement released on X.
According to the military, the attacks targeted Iran’s surveillance infrastructure, communications systems, air defense positions, drone storage and mine layer capabilities, according to Bloomberg.
The ongoing exchange of attacks marked the third straight day of fighting, raising fears that efforts to restore shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to pre-conflict levels could be delayed. Talks on a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the conflict are due to resume on Monday.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Iran said on Saturday it had launched strikes against US positions in the Persian Gulf after US forces attacked its missile depot and radar facilities on Friday. Those earlier US operations were in response to an Iranian drone attack on a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz. An unnamed US official told CNN after the attacks that military action at this stage did not represent a return to full-scale combat operations.
“Commercial vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz continue,” US Central Command said. “US forces remain alert, lethal and ready.”
Iranian drone attack on Bahrain
Bahrain said Iranian drones targeted the country on Saturday morning while another vessel was hit in the Strait of Hormuz, raising tensions despite an interim peace deal between the US and Iran reached earlier this month.
According to Bahrain’s foreign ministry, several Iranian drones targeted the kingdom, which hosts the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, early Saturday morning, state-run BNA reported. Since the start of the conflict between the United States and Israel in late February, Iran has repeatedly targeted Bahrain and other Gulf countries, where US military bases and thousands of US troops are based.
The tanker was hit while passing Hormuz
Separately, the British Maritime Monitoring Group reported that the tanker had been hit by an unidentified projectile while passing through the Strait of Hormuz. However, vessel tracking data indicated that several commercial vessels continued to use the waterway on Saturday morning.
The Joint Maritime Information Center raised the security threat level in the Strait of Hormuz to “substantial” on Saturday, issuing a warning covering much of the normal shipping route due to the potential presence of sea mines. She also announced that the Omani transit route recommended by Western navies had been expanded to accommodate two-way shipping.
US and Iran trade accusations
Meanwhile, Tehran and Washington continued to accuse each other of violating the ceasefire. In a statement issued on Saturday, Iran’s foreign ministry called the US strikes “an explicit violation of the first paragraph of the memorandum of understanding” the two countries signed earlier this month. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also claimed responsibility for the retaliatory strikes against US sites, although it did not identify the locations.
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