The situation in the Strait of Hormuz has seen a day of heightened tension since the United States began a campaign Thursday to“Guide” ships stranded in the strait. According to Commander Cooper of the Central Command, Iran on the 4th fired multiple cruise missiles, drones, etc. at naval vessels and merchant ships“Protected” by the military, uS forces then sank 6 small Iranian vessels. Iranian media quoted sources as saying that none of the army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution’s warships had been hit. An oil industrial zone in the United Arab Emirates has been hit by an Iranian drone strike, the UAE said Thursday. An Iranian military official told the media that the incident was the result of US“Military adventurism”. In the wake of these developments, the international media are asking anxious questions about whether the ceasefire has broken down? Has War resumed? United States Secretary of Defense said at a news conference on the 5th, the U. S. military’s“Grooming” action is a temporary defensive measures, and the cease-fire with Iran is still valid. However, some analysts pointed out that if the small-scale conflict escalated out of control, the situation could also escalate dangerously. The Iranian government and many voices in international public opinion have repeatedly stressed that only diplomacy can truly solve the problem.
Ships sail through the Strait of Hormuz on May 4.
Project Liberty is a defensive measure
The operation to“Guide” ships away from the Strait of Hormuz is known in the United States as Project Liberty. In the United States, “The New York Times” view, the U. S. Government is trying to solve the problems caused by their own measures. At a press conference at the Pentagon on the morning of the 5th, local time, Heggseth said the new military action was a defensive measure and“We are not seeking war.” He called it a“Gift” from the US to the world. The New York Times commented that he did not mention that the Strait of Hormuz was unimpeded before the United States launched war against Iran. According to Hegeses, the events of the past 24 hours and the actions of the US military show that Iran“Does not control the Strait of Hormuz”. But the report said it was clear that the US military did not control the strait either.
Mr. Kane, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who attended the news conference with Mr. Hegeseth, said that since the cease-fire went into effect, Iran has launched more than 10 attacks on troops, but none of the attacks met the threshold for the resumption of large-scale combat operations, which was defined as“A political decision”.
On the 4th, the Strait of Hormuz erupted. According to the U. S. , Iran to the U. S. Navy vessels and the day by the U. S. military“Protection” of merchant ships attacked, the U. S. military then sank several Iranian small boats. The US military is authorized to strike targets that pose a direct threat to ships passing through the strait, the Axus news website quoted a US official as saying on the 4th, for example, the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution or Iranian missile positions. A source close to US President Donald Trump described it as“The beginning of a process that could lead to confrontation with Iran”. British“Guardian” said the U. S. Military 4 military action, once again the entire region to the brink of all-out war.
Two us-flagged merchant ships have passed through the Strait of Hormuz, US Central Command said Sunday. According to CNN reported that the United States used destroyers, helicopters, fighter jets, drones and other forces to carry out the operation. However, according to a report on the 4th by the radio and television station of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the public relations department of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution said that no merchant ships or oil tankers had passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the past few hours, it denied the US claim that ships had passed through the strait, calling it“Baseless and a complete lie”.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency quoted sources on the 5th as saying that in response to the US military’s claim to have hit 6 Iranian speedboats, Iran’s investigation showed that, five civilians were killed when forces fired on and destroyed two small boats carrying cargo from the port of Haisab in Oman bound for the Iranian coast. It was not the speedboats of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution that were attacked.
Iran’s foreign minister warns us not to get bogged down in ‘quagmire’
Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates was again embroiled in conflict on the 4th, according to the United Arab Emirates. Three Indian citizens have been injured in a“Major fire” at the Fujairah oil industry zone in the United Arab Emirates, CNN reported. The Fujairah Media Office says the incident was triggered by a drone strike from the direction of Iran. The New York Times said it was the first such attack on the United Arab Emirates since the United States, Israel and Iran imposed a temporary cease-fire four weeks ago. The Fujairah oil industry zone is the UAE’s largest oil storage area.
The Ministry of Foreign Relations of the United Arab Emirates also issued a statement on the 4th, saying that Iran used two drones to attack a ship owned by the National Oil Company of Abu Dhabi through the Strait of Hormuz. The United Arab Emirates has condemned this ADNOC. The United Arab Emirates Air Defense System successfully intercepted 12 ballistic missiles, 3 cruise missiles and 4 unmanned aerial vehicles from Iran, the Ministry of Defense announced Wednesday.
According to Al Jazeera, an Iranian military official told the Islamic Republic of Iran radio and television that the country did not plan to attack the oil facilities of the United Arab Emirates in advance, what happened was the result of American military adventurism, which wanted to open up“Restricted waterways for illegal ships through the Strait of Hormuz”, the U. S. military must be held accountable and U. S. officials must stop using force in the diplomatic process.
CNN said that after a series of attacks, Iranian Foreign Minister Alagqi warned the United States and the United Arab Emirates on the early morning of the 5th not to fall into the“Quagmire,” and said that the current situation in the Strait of Hormuz shows that, there is no military solution to the political crisis. The so-called“Freedom Plan” advanced by the US side in the Strait of Hormuz will become the“Stalemate plan”. The Speaker of Iran’s Islamic Parliament, Ali Karibav, said on social media that the US and its allies had violated the ceasefire and imposed a blockade, endangering the safety of shipping and energy transport.
“Tensions are rising in the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran and the United States exchanging fire, further jeopardizing the fragile cease-fire,” CNN said Thursday. The U.S. “Wall Street Journal” 5, said, “Iran’s war took a dangerous turn.”. The United States and Iran are on the brink of a dangerous new phase in the war, with both sides using military force to try to break the deadlock in the Strait of Hormuz. Brian Clark, a senior fellow at the U.S. Hudson Institute, believes that the new phase of the U.S.-IRAQI conflict will most likely be dominated by naval confrontation.
The U.S. National Public Radio quoted analysts as saying that the situation is full of uncertainty and that the U.S. side has described its actions as defensive, but maintains a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the blockade is seen as an act of war. It is difficult to predict how events will unfold. “Wall Street Journal” believed that the present situation or will evolve into a long-term, gradual fermentation game. It is less intense than the big air strikes of the previous five weeks, but there will be sporadic exchanges of fire that could escalate if either side makes a strategic miscalculation.
U.S. ‘wobbling’
CNN said the U. S. and Iran 4, in the Strait of Hormuz“Exchange of fire”, Trump refused to explain whether the cease-fire is still valid. But he told Fox News Channel interview on the 4th warned that if Iran in the Persian Gulf or near the Strait of Hormuz fired on US ships, will be“Wiped off the face of the Earth.”. Asked about the possibility of successful negotiations with Iran, Trump said the Iranians had become more soft than in the past.
According to the BBC (BBC) reported that Hegeses 5, said the cease-fire between the United States and Iraq is still valid. According to the report, the U.S. side“Made efforts” at the press conference to show that, in the U.S. view, the goals of Project Liberty need to be distinguished from port blockades and a broader conflict with Iran.
For days, Trump has wavered between conflicting impulses: his desire to punish Iran harshly for refusing to give up its nuclear program, and his desire to punish Iran harshly for refusing to give up its nuclear program, the Wall Street Journal quoted US officials as saying, he also wants to avoid a major escalation that would draw the United States deeper into the Middle East conflict. Reports reveal that Trump is more likely to negotiate an end to Tehran’s nuclear program and the war.
“Diplomacy has not come to a complete halt,” aksios said Wednesday, adding that US presidential envoy Kofi Witkov and Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, are still in talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Aragaki. A senior US official said: “Negotiations are going on. . . we are not satisfied with their offer and they are not satisfied with ours.” Whitkoff has been advising Trump to keep talking and is optimistic about the chances of a deal, but other senior officials are much more pessimistic. Both sides appear to have drawn irreconcilable Red Lines, the New York Times said.
Council on Foreign Relations website Article 4, said the United States tried bombing, blockade, and now engaged in a vaguely defined“Grooming” operation, but Iran still controls the Strait of Hormuz. Only diplomacy can really solve the problem. The sooner the United States accepts that there is no military solution to the current crisis, the better.