East Iran

De Revolutionaire Garde vaardigt waarschuwing uit terwijl Trump wacht op het antwoord van Iran op het nieuwste vredesvoorstel van Washington.

De VS verklaarden dat zij aanvallen hebben uitgevoerd op Iraanse militaire doelen na een aanval op drie Amerikaanse torpedobootjagers in de straat van Hormuz. Goedemorgen en welkom bij de liveblog van the Guardian over het Midden-Oosten. De VS stelden dat ze aanvallen hebben uitgevoerd op Iraanse militaire doelen na een aanval op drie Amerikaanse torpedobootjagers in de straat van Hormuz, terwijl Teheran Washington ervan beschuldigde als eerste te hebben toegeslagen. De vuuruitwisseling dreigt een kwetsbaar staaktokend te doorbreken dat sinds 8 april van kracht is – maar Donald Trump hield vol dat de wapenstilstand intact is gebleven. Lees verder...

De VS en Iran hebben tegenstrijdige berichten afgegeven over de waarschijnlijkheid dat er op korte termijn een deal wordt bereikt.

US says it has destroyed six small Iranian military boats – which Tehran denies – while Iran launched barrage of attacks on US-allied United Arab EmiratesDonald Trump sends warships to break Iran’s strait of Hormuz blockadeWe are restarting our live coverage of the US-Israeli war on Iran. The US and Iran launched new attacks in the Gulf on Monday as they wrestled for control over the strait of Hormuz amid dual maritime blockades, taking the region back to the brink of full-scale war.The fresh volleys of missiles and drones came after Donald Trump launched a new effort to get stranded tankers and other ships through the vital energy and trade route that has been virtually shut since the US-Israeli war against Iran began in late February.Trump warned that Iran’s forces would be “blown off the face of the earth” if they attacked US vessels trying to reopen a route through the strait. The president announced the US operation – called Project Freedom – on Monday to help hundreds of ships trapped in the Gulf.Centcom chief Adm Brad Cooper declined to say whether he thought the ceasefire with Tehran that begun on 8 April remained in effect amid Iranian attacks in the region but acknowledged Iran’s Revolutionary Guards tried to “interfere” with Trump’s operation.Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said Monday’s events showed there was no military solution to the crisis. He said peace talks were progressing with Pakistan’s mediation and warned the US and the UAE against being drawn into a “quagmire by ill-wishers”.Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Monday that no commercial vessels had crossed the strait in the past few hours, and that US claims to the contrary were false. Iranian state media also denied reports the US had sunk Iranian vessels.The UK and Saudi Arabia both called for de-escalation after Iran’s attacks on the UAE – the first on the US ally since Washington’s ceasefire with Tehran took effect about a month ago.In Oman, two people were injured by an attack on a residential building in Bukha, on the Hormuz strait’s coastline, an Omani state news agency reported.A fire on a South Korean-operated vessel that had an explosion in the Hormuz strait has been extinguished, ship operator HMM said. South Korea’s foreign ministry said all 24 crew on the HMM Namu – including six South Koreans – were unharmed. Trump blamed an Iranian attack.International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva warned that inflation was already picking up and the global economy could face a “much worse outcome” if the war dragged into 2027 and oil prices hit about $125 a barrel. Continue reading...

• A CNN investigation based on satellite imagery and damage assessments found that Iranian strikes damaged at least 16 U.S. military installations across eight Middle Eastern countries during the conflict. • Some U.S. military facilities suffered extensive harm classified as operationally unusable or facing difficult repair decisions, suggesting the scale of attacks was far greater than publicly acknowledged. • The report raises questions about whether the Pentagon has understated both physical damage and the true financial costs of the Iran war, challenging official public accounting of the conflict.

• The United States deployed a third aircraft carrier strike group with thousands of elite troops to the Middle East on April 24, marking the largest military buildup since the 2003 Iraq invasion, as the two-month Iran conflict escalates despite a ceasefire agreement. • President Trump warned the American military was "ready to go" if peace efforts fail, stating the US used the April 8 ceasefire to "restock" military capabilities while Washington and Tehran accuse each other of violations. • The US bombing campaign launched February 28 has devastated Iran's military infrastructure and leadership, but Tehran maintains control of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil and gas supply route, prompting a US naval blockade imposed April 13.

Tehran’s UN envoy says ‘full respect’ of Iran’s rights also key for lasting regional stabilityUS is being ‘humiliated’ by Iran’s leadership, says Friedrich MerzWe are restarting our live coverage of the US-Israeli war on Iran.Iran needs “credible guarantees” against more US-Israeli attacks before it can ensure security in the Gulf, Tehran’s envoy to the UN has said, while on a Russian visit Iran’s foreign minister blamed Washington for the failure of peace talks.Donald Trump is unhappy with an Iranian proposal on the war because it does not address Iran’s nuclear program, Reuters cited a US official as saying on Monday, after Trump discussed the proposal with his top national security aides. Iran had offered to end its closure of the strait of Hormuz if the US lifted its blockade and ended the war in a proposal that would postpone discussions on Iran’s nuclear program, the Associated Press reported earlier, citing two unnamed regional officials. Later reporting quoted White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt as saying the proposal was “being discussed”.Lebanese president Joseph Aoun said direct talks with Israel sought to end the war on Lebanon and that those who dragged Lebanon into it were the ones committing “treason” – a jab at the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah, which claimed several attacks on Israeli targets in south Lebanon on Monday.Iraq’s newly elected president nominated businessman Ali al-Zaidi as the country’s prime minister-designate on Monday, after the country’s leaders yielded to US pressure not to support the bid of a former premier close to Iran.The Coordination Framework – an alliance of Shia factions with varying links to Iran – had initially backed powerbroker Nouri al-Maliki to become the country’s next premier, but Trump’s ultimatum left Iraqi leaders looking elsewhere.The US and Iran clashed at the UN on Monday over Tehran’s nuclear program and its selection to be one of dozens of vice-presidents at a month-long conference to review the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. US official Christopher Yeaw said Iran’s selection was an “affront” to the treaty. Tehran’s envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Reza Najafi, rejected the US statement as “baseless and politically motivated”. Continue reading...