IRAN ASSERTS CONTROL OVER VITAL STRAIT
Iran has accused the United States of not upholding the interim agreement, in particular by not sustaining a promised ceasefire in Lebanon, which US ally Israel invaded in March in pursuit of the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
Israel and Lebanon have repeatedly agreed to US-brokered ceasefires, the latest of which was announced on Friday. But these have had only limited overall impact, with Israel insisting it will not withdraw from territory it has seized and Hezbollah repeatedly rejecting calls to give up its arms as long as Israeli troops remain in place.
Lebanese state television reported an Israeli drone strike on Saturday in the Nabatiyeh area in the south, which has experienced Israeli strikes throughout the conflict. The Israeli military said it had targeted a person who posed a threat to its forces. Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem rejected the day-old Israel-Lebanon agreement as a surrender, and said it was “null and void”.
With hundreds of thousands of Lebanese, mainly Shi’ite Muslims, still unable to return to homes in Israeli-occupied areas, anger over the agreement has spread beyond Hezbollah to the wider Shi’ite community.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz praised the agreement, saying it allows Israel to maintain its occupation of a so-called security zone in Lebanon and bars the return of displaced residents.
Mohsen Rezaei, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, said Washington had violated the war-ending memorandum of understanding by supporting what he called proxy forces in the region and creating tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has also struck neighbouring Gulf states that host large US military bases. Iranian state television said the Revolutionary Guards had delivered “a decisive response” after US forces hit a communications tower in the port city of Sirik. Iran’s Mehr news agency said the Iranian port was operating normally with no damage reported to facilities or equipment.
Bahrain said Iran’s latest attacks violated the memorandum of understanding.
Hundreds of ships, including tankers laden with oil, have been blockaded inside the Gulf since war broke out. As they began leaving through the strait over the past two weeks, oil prices have tumbled close to pre-war levels on the resulting surge in supply.
Washington has been promoting a southern lane along the coast of Oman, while Tehran, which ultimately aims to charge fees for use of the strait, wants ships to use a northern route through its waters and under its control.
Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament’s national security committee, said on Saturday that any violation of Iran’s shipping instructions would be met decisively. US Vice President JD Vance, Trump’s chief negotiator on the conflict, said the Americans had adhered to the ceasefire deal and blamed Iran for any return to conflict that might result from its actions.
“Iran signed a ceasefire agreement. We have honoured it. If they have disagreements about how the MOU is being applied, they can pick up the phone. But violence will be met with violence,” Vance said on X.