Iran, US exchange new strikes as Trump rejects pressure to end war

Iran fired a missile at a U.S. air base in Kuwait on Thursday just hours after the United States attacked the Islamic Republic, with both sides accusing the other of violating their fragile ceasefire and further jeopardizing diplomatic efforts to end the war.

Subscribe to read this story ad-free

Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.

Kuwait shot down the ballistic missile, the US and Kuwaiti militaries said. No damage or casualties were reported.

A US official said US forces in Kuwait were the suspected target. Iran said it targeted a US base responsible for strikes Wednesday evening in Bandar Abbas, an Iranian port city near the Strait of Hormuz.

Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry denounced what it called “heinous Iranian attacks” on its territory, while Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the U.S. attacks were “provocations” that “certainly constitute a violation of the ceasefire.”

A few hours earlier, President Donald Trump had signaled that an agreement between the two parties was not close and that he would not be rushed either by international economic pressure or by the political pressure of the upcoming midterm elections.

00:22

Trump: “No one will control” the Strait of Hormuz

00:0000:00

Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz – which it effectively closed in response to the Israeli-US attack in late February – has caused a global economic shock, with rising prices for oil, natural gas, fertilizer and other essential goods.

Trump also warned Oman, another US ally in the region, against partnering with Iran to jointly control the strait. “Oman will behave like everyone else or we will have to blow them up,” he told a Cabinet meeting, before adding: “They understand that. Everything will be fine.”

The US military carried out strikes in the Bandar Abbas region on Wednesday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry and US Central Command said.

CENTCOM said Thursday that Wednesday’s strikes at 10:17 p.m. ET (6:47 a.m. local time Thursday) destroyed five one-way attack drones “that posed a clear threat in and near the Strait of Hormuz.” The strikes also “prevented the launch of a sixth drone from an Iranian ground control site in Bandar Abbas,” he added.

A U.S. official said the attacks were limited and did not represent a resumption of major combat operations, adding that Iranian drones posed a threat to U.S. forces near the waterway and to commercial ships transiting the area. The ground control station was targeted because a fifth drone was about to take off from there, the official said.

In retaliation, Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards said the US military base responsible for their strikes was targeted, according to a statement carried by Iranian news agencies.

Kuwait is home to a US air base that Iran and its proxies have already targeted in the three-month-old war.

The Guard warned Thursday that any further U.S. attacks would prompt a “more decisive” response and that Washington would take responsibility for the consequences.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei condemned America’s “aggressive actions against Iran’s territorial integrity and national sovereignty,” which he said “constitute a blatant violation” of international law and the ceasefire between the United States and Iran, Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency reported.

He “underlined the determination of the Islamic Republic of Iran to take all necessary measures to defend its national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the statement said.

At a Cabinet meeting Wednesday, Trump said no one would be allowed to control the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil passed before the war.

“The strait will be open to everyone,” he said, adding: “No one will control it.”

Some observers wonder whether Trump made a mistake in saying he might have to “blow up” Oman, given that the country is a peaceful member of the Gulf Cooperation Council with which the United States has a free trade agreement.

But the State Department then republished an excerpt of Trump’s comments about X, citing that specific phrase.

Baghaei said Trump’s threats were “another dangerous sign of the normalization of anarchy and coercive behavior in international relations.”

The disruption around Hormuz has threatened global food and energy supplies, with oil prices jumping around 3% following the escalation of hostilities after hopes for a peace deal failed.

Negotiations led by Pakistan and Qatar appeared close to an agreement this weekend, but no announcement was made.

A senior Arab official directly involved in mediating peace talks between Washington and Tehran told NBC News on Thursday that U.S. and Iranian negotiators agreed to the terms of a truce deal three days ago, but both sides have delayed its finalization and announcement.

“It was already closed in Doha three days ago, now everyone is playing chicken and egg,” the official said, calling the delays “frustrating.”

Iranian state television reported earlier this week what it called an “unofficial” preliminary memorandum of understanding with the United States.

He said the United States had promised to withdraw its forces from areas surrounding Iran and lift its naval blockade in exchange for Tehran restoring the number of ships using the waterway to pre-war levels within a month.

The White House rejected the report and Trump later said Iran was “negotiating on smoke.”

Trump said at the Cabinet meeting that Iran “thought they were going to wait for me faster – ‘We’re going to wait for him, he’s got the midterms’ – I don’t care about the midterms.

He said “they really want to get a deal done,” adding: “So far they haven’t been able to do it. We’re not happy with it, but we will be – either that or we’ll just have to finish the job.”

On Wednesday evening, the Trump administration also announced it was imposing sanctions on a new agency announced this month by Iran, the Persian Gulf Straits Authority, which aims to approve the transit of ships through the strait and impose tolls on them of up to $2 million each.

“The Iranian military’s latest attempt to extort global maritime trade is proof that economic fury has left the regime desperate for cash,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement, referring to the U.S. economic pressure campaign against Iran.

Another key sticking point has been the release of frozen Iranian funds, which the deputy head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council further highlighted on Thursday.

“We seek to release all Iranian assets frozen by America and this is the legitimate right of the Iranian people,” Ali Bagheri said, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency. “Iranian assets must be fully returned to Iran without any conditions.”

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos