The United States military has shot down several drones launched by Iran over the volatile waters of the region, Al Hadath reported. Citing an unnamed US official, the report stated that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had targeted a third commercial ship transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, severely testing a highly fragile regional maritime agreement. Following the latest provocations, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson strongly condemned the targeting of the Qatari oil tanker Al Rekayyat near the Strait of Hormuz, describing it as an “unacceptable attack” on free international navigation as well as global energy supplies. The Qatari administration further held Iran fully and legally responsible for the maritime strike.
Adding to the gravity of the situation, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency confirmed that two oil tankers transiting the strategic chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuz were struck in separate maritime incidents on Tuesday. Fortunately, no crew casualties or adverse environmental impacts have been reported from these twin strikes so far. Meanwhile, providing insight into regional diplomacy, US President Donald Trump stated that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was not in favor of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon. President Trump went on to downplay the ongoing high-stakes US-Israel military conflict with Tehran, describing it as “not even a war” but rather a strategic “denuclearization” campaign of Iran.
In a separate domestic development within Iran, the massive funeral procession for the country’s former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei successfully concluded in the central city of Qom on Tuesday. His mortal remains are scheduled to be transported to neighbouring Iraq for another public funeral procession on Wednesday. Offering a conflicting narrative on the maritime tensions, Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB, citing anonymous internal sources, claimed that an oil tanker attacked in the Strait of Hormuz was specifically targeted only after it attempted to bypass normal channels to pass through the Omani route with the active operational support of the US Navy.
Addressing the deadlock in international diplomacy, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated on Tuesday that formal negotiations with the United States to secure a final peaceful deal would not commence if hostile threats against the Islamic Republic continued unabated. The latest drone downings follow a report by Axios on Monday, which cited a US official stating that the IRGC had fired at least two anti-ship missiles at commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Despite the severe regional friction, financial markets showed resilience as Wall Street closed significantly higher on Monday, with global crude oil prices settling back around stable levels last recorded before the outbreak of the active US-Israel war with Iran.
ലഘു വിവരണം ഹോർമുസ് കടലിടുക്കിൽ ഇറാൻ വിപ്ലവ ഗാർഡുകൾ വാണിജ്യ കപ്പലുകൾക്ക് നേരെ നടത്തിയ ആക്രമണങ്ങൾക്ക് പിന്നാലെ ഇറാൻ വിക്ഷേപിച്ച നിരവധി ഡ്രോണുകൾ അമേരിക്ക വെടിവെച്ചിട്ടു. തങ്ങളുടെ ‘അൽ റെക്കയ്യാത്ത്’ എന്ന കപ്പൽ ആക്രമിക്കപ്പെട്ടതിനെ ഖത്തർ ശക്തമായി അപലപിക്കുകയും ഉത്തരവാദിത്തം ഇറാനാണെന്ന് വ്യക്തമാക്കുകയും ചെയ്തു. രണ്ട് കപ്പലുകൾക്ക് നേരെ ചൊവ്വാഴ്ചയും ആക്രമണമുണ്ടായതായി യുകെഎംടിഒ സ്ഥിരീകരിച്ചു. ഇറാന്റെ ഭീഷണികൾ തുടർന്നാൽ അമേരിക്കയുമായി ചർച്ചയ്ക്കില്ലെന്ന് ഇറാൻ വിദേശകാര്യ മന്ത്രി വ്യക്തമാക്കിയപ്പോൾ, ഇത് യുദ്ധമല്ല മറിച്ച് ഇറാന്റെ ആണവ നിരായുധീകരണ പ്രക്രിയയാണെന്ന് ട്രംപ് പ്രതികരിച്ചു.
(With inputs from Iranintl)
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