Sky News attempts to chart the aftermath of the new “flare-up” that has erupted in the Middle East following Iran’s attack on a Cypriot ship and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. retaliatory airstrikes, and Tehran’s attacks on Gulf states.
As reported by the British channel’s Middle East correspondent, Shelly Logud, just a few days after Trump’s statement at the NATO summit that “the truce was over,” it appears that all options are now on the table.
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“Iran is once again targeting its Gulf neighbors, which for weeks had seemed to be off its radar. At the same time, U.S. strikes against Iran are becoming increasingly intense. And, it appears, the Strait of Hormuz has been closed again, according to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” writes Lockwood.
In light of Iran’s strikes following the 140 bombings by the U.S. Armed Forces, the British journalist notes that “Iran had warned that any retaliation would be met with a fierce response. This time, however, the missiles and drones were not limited to Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan—which had borne the brunt of the attacks in recent days. The United Arab Emirates, which had previously been a favorite target of Iran, came under attack for the first time in nearly two months.”
“Now no one is off-limits”
Describing what happened in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, he writes that “residents woke up to emergency alerts on their cell phones, while WhatsApp groups across the country were filled with expressions of anxiety and profanity — a sign of the fear that the country might once again experience the attacks it had suffered so intensely during the first six weeks of this war.”
“It seems that no one is off-limits anymore,” writes the Sky News reporter, emphasizing that “it is particularly significant that Qatar, which now plays a key mediating role between the two sides, has also reported incoming fire, with residents describing explosions that rattled windows throughout Doha.”
In stark contrast to the headlines in regional newspapers, which just the day before had reported on Oman’s bilateral talks with the Iranian foreign minister, Oman also confirmed drone attacks on its territory.
Logud further notes that Mojtaba Khamenei’s message of revenge, delivered at the funeral of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, “was inscribed on a missile reportedly launched in today’s attacks and publicized by the Revolutionary Guards.”
“Last month’s memorandum of understanding is interpreted very differently by the two sides.”
In fact, in response to a post by Iran’s negotiator, Mohammad Galibaf, that “the era of unilateral agreements is over. We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking on the door,” the Sky News reporter notes that “it appears that last month’s memorandum of understanding is being interpreted very differently by both sides.”
“The agreement provided for the immediate resumption of commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, but Iran appears to be attacking ships that bypass the route it controls on the northern side of the strait. A source in the shipping industry in the United Arab Emirates told me that the route controlled by the U.S. military to the south, which follows the coast of Oman, has significantly helped ships wishing to safely exit the Persian Gulf. However, according to the same source, most ships turn off their transponders to pass unnoticed. “Conditions are anything but normal on this vital sea route, through which, in peacetime, about one-fifth of the world’s oil passes,” writes Logud.
“And now it seems that this issue, which continues to be a major headache for Donald Trump, could shatter any hope for peace. With nearly half of the 60-day deadline set for the negotiations having passed, during which the complex issue of Iran’s nuclear program was to be thoroughly examined, it appears that the two sides have failed to discuss anything substantive. And it remains unclear what options the U.S. president now has left. In the best-case scenario, diplomacy returns to square one. “At worst, the situation could escalate into a new wave of widespread hostilities,” concludes the Sky News reporter.
