From AFP teams in Tehran, Dubai, Beijing and Mecca
US forces launched overnight strikes on missile sites in southern Iran and boats they said were trying to lay mines in Gulf waters, sending oil prices soaring on Tuesday and fueling tensions as diplomats sought a deal to end the war.
The international Brent crude oil benchmark rose almost three percent after the US Central Command announced a new wave of bombings and China urged both sides to respect their ceasefire and resolve their dispute peacefully.
Iran did not immediately confirm the reported attacks, but state media reported explosions in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, and the Revolutionary Guard Corps said its forces had shot down a US drone that entered its airspace and shot down an F-35 fighter jet.
In a statement marking the start of the Eid al-Adha holiday, Tehran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei declared that Washington was losing its influence in the Middle East and warned Middle Eastern countries to ensure they no longer host bases from which the US can launch attacks.
The United States, he said in a written statement, “in addition to no longer having any safe haven in the region for aggression and the establishment of military bases, is moving further and further away from its previous position with each passing day.”
Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for US Central Command, said: “US forces conducted self-defense strikes in southern Iran today to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces.”
‘we’ll see’
He gave few details of the attacks and said only that the targets included missile launch sites and boats trying to “lay mines”.
Despite the blows, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that a deal remained within reach.
But he remained tight-lipped about the fate of the Strait of Hormuz, the main oil and gas shipping route from the Gulf, which Iran is seeking to control by imposing tariffs to allow ships to pass through.
“There were some talks going on today in Qatar, so we’ll see if we can make progress. I think we’re talking a lot about specific language in the initial document, so it’s going to take a few days,” Rubio told reporters during a visit to India.
He said that the strait “would be opened one way or another”, adding: “What is happening there is illegal, it is illegal, it is unsustainable for the world, it is unacceptable”.
The attacks threatened a ceasefire that began on April 8 as the United States and Iran struggle to reach an agreement to end a war that has rocked the global economy with a severe disruption of energy flows.
China, Washington’s arch-rival and a major energy importer, expressed concern after the US attacks.
“We call on the parties concerned to fulfill their ceasefire commitments, resolve disputes by peaceful means … and promote the early restoration of peace,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters.
Hopes for a deal took another blow when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “crush” Hezbollah in Lebanon on Monday evening. Iran has demanded that any peace deal also apply to the fighting in Lebanon.
On Tuesday, Israel warned Lebanese civilians to evacuate the southern city of Nabatieh ahead of further planned attacks.
Disposal of nuclear fuel
US President Donald Trump said in a social media post that he expected Iran to hand over the enriched uranium to the United States to be destroyed or destroy it in Iran with an international witness.
The nuclear fuel “will either be immediately delivered to the United States to be brought home and destroyed or, preferably, in cooperation and coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran, destroyed locally or, at another acceptable location.”
