DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. military said it fired on Iranian forces and sank six small boats targeting civilian ships as it moved to reopen theStrait of Hormuzon Monday. The United Arab Emirates, a key American ally, said it had come under attack from Iran for the first time since afragile ceasefire took hold in early April.
The attacks appeared to be in response to U.S. PresidentDonald Trump’slatest efforts to reopen the strait, a critical waterway for global energy. The U.S. military said two American-flagged merchant ships had successfully transited the strait on Monday as part of a new initiative.
The UAE Defense Ministry said its air defenses had engaged 15 missiles and four drones fired by Iran. Authorities in the eastern emirate of Fujairah said one drone sparked a fire at a key oil facility, wounding three Indian nationals. The British military reported two cargo vessels ablaze off the UAE.
Breaking Iran’s chokehold on the strait would ease global economic concerns and deny Tehran a major source of leverage. But such efforts also risk reigniting the full-scale fighting that erupted when the U.S. and Israel first attacked Iran on Feb. 28, prompting it to close the strait.
Reports of new attacks raised doubts as to whether shipping companies, and their insurers, would take such a risk given that Iran has fired on ships in the waterway and vowed to keep doing so. Iran has said the new U.S. effort is a violation of the fragile ceasefire that has held for more than three weeks.
Iran’s effective closure of the strait, which runs between Iran and Oman, has caused a spike in worldwide fuel prices andrattled the global economy. The U.S.-led Joint Maritime Information Center had advised ships Monday to cross the strait in Oman’s waters, saying it had set up an “enhanced security area.”
Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, told reporters that American forces have successfully opened a passage through the strait that is free of Iranian mines. He said Iran launched multiple cruise missiles, drones and small boats at civilian ships under the U.S. military’s protection.
U.S. military helicopters sank six of the small boats, Cooper said, adding that “each and every” threat had been defeated.
“The U.S. commanders who are on the scene have all the authority necessary to defend their unit and to defend commercial shipping -- as we saw and demonstrated earlier today,” Cooper said.
AP correspondent Karen Chammas reports a U.S.-led task force tells ships to reroute on the first day of a new effort to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while Iran issues a statement telling ships to coordinate with Iranian officials.
Source: Drudge Report
