Washington: Amid intensified war in the Middle East, the US military on Wednesday said it took out multiple Iranian vessels on Tuesday as the Islamic Republic vowed to block the region’s oil exports and concerns grew about the country’s threats to stop tankers from using a waterway through which 20 per cent of the world’s oil is shipped. The US military further added that it destroyed 16 mine-laying Iranian vessels, though President Donald Trump said in social media posts that there were no reports of Iran planting explosives in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump earlier warned Iran against laying mines in the strait
The American military released the figure, along with unclassified footage of some of the vessels, after Trump earlier warned Iran against laying mines in the strait.
Both sides sharpened their rhetoric as the war entered its 11th day, with Trump threatening to hit Iran at “a level never seen before” if the country failed to immediately remove any mines it might have deployed in the channel.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth promised the most intense strikes yet, while the Pentagon detailed the broader toll of injuries sustained by US troops. The conflict’s effects rippled across the Middle East and beyond. Iranian leaders ruled out talks, threatened Trump and launched new attacks against Israel and Gulf Arab countries.
In Iran, residents of Tehran said they experienced some of the war’s heaviest strikes. A woman said she saw a residential building get hit. She and others reached by The Associated Press spoke on condition of anonymity to prevent reprisals. Tens of thousands of Iranians have sought shelter in the countryside.
Lebanon reports more deaths
Multiple Israeli strikes killed seven people across southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Health Ministry said early on Wednesday.
Also killed was a Red Cross member who died early on Wednesday after an Israeli strike targeted his team on Monday while they were rescuing people following an earlier attack, the health ministry said. On Tuesday, Israeli airstrikes killed four people, including a paramedic who worked for the Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic Health Authority who was treating the wounded.
Israel said it was working to intercept missiles from Iran and Hezbollah, which began firing on Israel after the start of the war. In Iraq, drones targeted military bases inside Baghdad International Airport late on Tuesday, two security officials told AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the press. Some drones fell near Iraqi security positions, while others landed near logistical support sites used by US-led coalition forces, one official said.
