Iran attacks ships, rejects Oman's proposals... and Trump threatens it with a harsh lesson
The fragile calm between Iran and the United States was shattered by the announcement from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) that it had intercepted a surprise Iranian missile attack on a base in Jordan yesterday, as President Donald Trump vowed a firm response to the surprise assault, which marks the first such incident since he announced last Friday the suspension of strikes against Tehran to allow room for reviving diplomatic understanding and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Without clarifying whether this would mean the collapse of the stalled negotiation track with the Iranians via Pakistani-Qatari mediation, Trump said, “I’ll let them keep talking, and we will launch our strikes against them.”
Meanwhile, the Jordanian military reported that it intercepted and shot down five Iranian missiles targeting the kingdom’s territory, following its interception of four unmanned drones of unknown origin over the previous two days.
In response, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed that “the attack was carried out in retaliation for the aggressive acts and interventions by the U.S. military,” adding that “Iran will continue its resistance as long as threats against it and illegal actions launched by U.S. forces against its interests persist,” referring to the U.S. naval blockade.
The Guard alleged that it targeted three oil tankers attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz through the southern corridor, which was established in coordination with the Sultanate of Oman and the United Nations and protected by the U.S. military. Amid anticipation regarding the nature and scale of Trump’s response, Tehran reported that a U.S. strike targeted a remote site near the city of Piranshahr in West Azerbaijan, close to the Iraqi border.
Alongside the resumption of hostilities, Reuters reported that an Iranian official stated that his country had rejected a Muscat proposal to establish a joint regional administration for the semi-closed strait since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.
The Iranian official accused the United States and a major regional state of attempting to pressure the Sultanate of Oman to proceed with their “unrealistic plans” concerning the Strait of Hormuz, noting that “Iran insisted that the entire entry route be through the strait, and part of the exit route be under Iranian control.”
Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Abadi stated that Tehran rejected an Omani proposal to divide navigation routes equally between the two countries, considering that such a plan does not address Iran’s security concerns as long as long-term regional stability has not been achieved.
Separately, Reuters reported that Tehran is preparing to receive the first shipment of a deal to purchase 300 to 400 Chinese-made shoulder-fired air defense systems, valued between $60 million and $70 million. Meanwhile, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied the accuracy of reports suggesting the deal would be conducted through an intermediary company, emphasizing that Beijing continues to play a role in promoting peace and ending the crisis.
