IRAN WAR LATEST: UAE report missile and drone attack; Iran says Strait of Hormuz 'not generally closed'
· Toronto Sun
As the crisis in the Middle East entered a third week, both Iran and Israel have launched more strikes with no end to the war in sight.
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The United Arab Emirates said they’ve intercepted drones on Sunday, a day after Iran had called for the evacuation of three major ports in the UAE.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military continued its operation in Iran and Lebanon, hitting more targets in Western Iran and Beirut.
Regarding the situation of the Strait of Hormuz, where tanker traffic carrying oil shipments from Persian Gulf states have stalled, Iran’s foreign minister spoke to two media outlets Sunday, stating that the strait is not closed to all traffic, but only to vessels from the U.S. and its allies.
IDF continues assault on Iran and Lebanon
The Israeli military said in a post on X that it was launching a wave of “extensive strikes in Western Iran,” stating that it was targeting the infrastructure of the “Iranian terror regime.”
In another post , the IDF also issued a warning to residents in the southern suburbs of Beirut to evacuate as it intensified its assault on alleged Hezbollah targets.
Residents in of Haret Hreik, Ghobeiry, Laylaki, Bourj el-Barajneh, Ghadir Perimeter and Shiyah were warned by IDF spokesperson Avichay Adraee to “evacuate immediately and not return to these neighbourhoods until further notice.”
Israeli strikes have deepened Lebanon’s humanitarian crisis, with more than 800 people killed and over 850,000 displaced.
UAE says missiles, drones from Iran intercepted
United Arab Emirates officials said it was attacked by four ballistic missiles and six drones from Iran.
“Dubai authorities confirm that the sounds heard in Marina and Al Sufouh areas resulted from successful air defence interceptions,” the Dubai Media Office said in a post on X .
There was no immediate word on damage or casualties.
Iran says Strait of Hormuz isn’t closed to all traffic
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the Strait of Hormuz is open to all vessels except the U.S. and its allies.
Araghchi’s comments about the reopening of the crucial trade route came in an interview with the London-based Al-Araby al-Jadeed published Sunday.
“The Strait of Hormuz is not generally closed, but only to the U.S. and its allies, and we will continue this policy as long as the attacks continue,” he was quoted as saying.
In an another interview with CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday , Araghchi said Iran is “open to countries who want to talk to us about the safe passage of their vessels.”
He said Iran has been approach by “a number” of nations about passage through the strait., but didn’t name them in the interview.
Regarding negotiations with the U.S. about ending the war, Araghchi told Face the Nation that there’s “no reason to talk with Trump’s envoys and said that Iran has had no “good experience talking with Americans.”
Britain ‘intensively’ looking at how to help secure Strait of Hormuz
Asked whether Britain is considering sending minesweepers or mine-hunting drones to the strategic waterway to help shipping return to normal, U.K. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband told Sky News: “We are talking to our allies.”
“We are intensively looking with our allies at what can be done, because it’s so important that we get the strait reopened,” he said.
Miliband told the BBC on Sunday that “any options that can help to get the strait reopened are being looked at.” He added: “We don’t want a nuclear Iran but ending this conflict is the best and surest way to get the strait reopened.”
4 injured in latest Iranian missile attack on Israel
Israel said it was targeted by multiple barrages Sunday around Tel Aviv, with one attack damaging an apartment building in the central Israeli ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak.
The country’s Magen David Adom rescue services said that one man was injured by glass shrapnel. Photos and video showed a blackened hole in place of the apartment’s windows.
Magen David Adom also said paramedics were treating another man in the nearby city of Ramat Gan who sustained blast injuries. It comes after an earlier barrage hit 23 sites in the Tel Aviv area and injured two people.
— with files from the Associated Press