The Kabul Tribune (KT) — Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard launched drone and missile attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait on Sunday in response to recent U.S. airstrikes on Iranian territory, while warning that negotiations to end the conflict could come to a "complete halt" if Washington continues its military operations, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
The attacks came as tensions escalated across the Persian
Gulf following U.S. strikes targeting Iranian military facilities.
According to AP, a multinational maritime security
organization overseen by the U.S. Navy announced on Saturday that it would
expand a shipping corridor near Oman in the Strait of Hormuz to accommodate
both inbound and outbound maritime traffic, creating another potential
flashpoint between Tehran and Washington.
An interim agreement between the United States and Iran
aimed at ending the conflict called for commercial transit through the Strait
of Hormuz to resume. The strategic waterway previously carried about one-fifth
of the world's oil and natural gas shipments.
However, Iran has twice attacked vessels using the Oman
shipping route, despite it being supported by a United Nations agency. Tehran
maintains that it has the right to control passage through the strategic
waterway, a position opposed by the United States and Gulf Arab states.
Early Sunday, the U.S. military's Central Command said it
had carried out strikes against Iranian military surveillance infrastructure,
communications systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities and naval
mine-laying capabilities.
The U.S. military said the operation followed an Iranian
attack on the Panamanian-flagged oil tanker Kiku early Saturday. According to
AP, the vessel was transporting crude oil for Qatar's state-owned energy
company, while Qatar has been serving as a key mediator in negotiations between
Washington and Tehran.
