Explosions near Iraq base after 13th US strike night on Iran
Explosions were reported near a base hosting US forces in Irbil after overnight American strikes on Iran. The blasts underscored a widening conflict that is threatening shipping routes and pushing oil prices higher.
A series of explosions was reported near a military base hosting US forces in northern Iraq on Friday, hours after the US military said it had completed its 13th straight night of strikes on Iran. An Associated Press journalist in Irbil heard at least seven blasts at around 9.30 am local time and saw at least four plumes of black smoke rising from areas near or inside the base.
The blasts came as fighting between the US and Iran continued to intensify over control of the Strait of Hormuz. Bahrain later activated its sirens twice and told residents to take shelter after detecting incoming fire, while Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said a day earlier that they had targeted two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea. Brent crude rose by more than 6 per cent to about USD 100 a barrel.
US Central Command said its latest strikes on Iran were meant to “further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters” as US forces try to regain control of the Strait of Hormuz. It said the strikes ended shortly before 5 am local time on Friday. The waterway carried a fifth of the world’s oil and gas in peacetime.
Iranian state media said four people were killed and nine injured in the US bombardment. Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi of Iraq, which has close ties with both the US and Iran, was in Tehran on Thursday to call for peace and dialogue. His office said he promised that Iraqi territory would not be used for attacks on Iran. Al-Zaidi had met US President Donald Trump in Washington earlier this month.
Iranian semiofficial news agencies Fars and ISNA said US strikes hit a Revolutionary Guard naval base in northern Iran. Overnight blasts were also reported on Qeshm Island, which stores naval assets including drone boats that Iran can use against vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, and in Isfahan province, which has a major air base and one of Iran’s nuclear sites. More strikes were also reported in Khuzestan in the southwest and in southern Fars province.
Iranian state media said a US missile strike on the outskirts of Ahvaz on the Karun River killed four people and injured five. It also reported two injuries in Lorestan province in western Iran and two more in the port city of Bandar Abbas, a key hub for military supplies and trade cargo.
The Houthis also threatened to shut down the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, another major shipping route linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. About 12 per cent of world trade, including a quarter of global container traffic, passes through it on the route between Europe and Asia through the Suez Canal. Lloyd’s List Intelligence said the Houthi attacks put oil shipments from Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu port at risk and created a “double whammy” alongside the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. It said Saudi Arabia had already diverted millions of barrels a day of oil exports to Yanbu through an overland pipeline as the war blocked the Persian Gulf.
Trump warned of “major military punishment” for the Houthis if attacks on ships continued. As the conflict widened, Iran said it had the right to manage traffic and possibly charge fees in the Strait of Hormuz, which had earlier been open toll-free. It has attacked ships using a route through the strait that is overseen by US forces and meant to remain outside Tehran’s control.
On social media, Trump said sanctioned Iranian funds held by the US would be used to cover the cost of repairing damage from the war. “Please let this statement serve to represent, until further notice, that from this point forth, any and all damages done to Ships, Cargo, or anything related thereto, will be paid for by Iranian Money that the United States has in its possession, and controls,” he said. Trump added that it would be “the fair and equitable thing to do”, though it remained unclear what legal route he would use. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi criticised the idea on X, saying, “once governments normalise confiscation, no one’s assets are safe. Ensuing chaos will not be pretty or peaceful.”
The latest explosions near Irbil, the continued US strikes inside Iran, the threat to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the sharp rise in oil prices underlined the growing regional and economic impact of the conflict centred on the Strait of Hormuz.
With PTI Inputs
A series of explosions was reported near a military base hosting US forces in northern Iraq on Friday, hours after the US military said it had completed its 13th straight night of strikes on Iran. An Associated Press journalist in Irbil heard at least seven blasts at around 9.30 am local time and saw at least four plumes of black smoke rising from areas near or inside the base.
The blasts came as fighting between the US and Iran continued to intensify over control of the Strait of Hormuz. Bahrain later activated its sirens twice and told residents to take shelter after detecting incoming fire, while Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said a day earlier that they had targeted two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea. Brent crude rose by more than 6 per cent to about USD 100 a barrel.
US Central Command said its latest strikes on Iran were meant to “further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters” as US forces try to regain control of the Strait of Hormuz. It said the strikes ended shortly before 5 am local time on Friday. The waterway carried a fifth of the world’s oil and gas in peacetime.
Iranian state media said four people were killed and nine injured in the US bombardment. Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi of Iraq, which has close ties with both the US and Iran, was in Tehran on Thursday to call for peace and dialogue. His office said he promised that Iraqi territory would not be used for attacks on Iran. Al-Zaidi had met US President Donald Trump in Washington earlier this month.
Iranian semiofficial news agencies Fars and ISNA said US strikes hit a Revolutionary Guard naval base in northern Iran. Overnight blasts were also reported on Qeshm Island, which stores naval assets including drone boats that Iran can use against vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, and in Isfahan province, which has a major air base and one of Iran’s nuclear sites. More strikes were also reported in Khuzestan in the southwest and in southern Fars province.
Iranian state media said a US missile strike on the outskirts of Ahvaz on the Karun River killed four people and injured five. It also reported two injuries in Lorestan province in western Iran and two more in the port city of Bandar Abbas, a key hub for military supplies and trade cargo.
The Houthis also threatened to shut down the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, another major shipping route linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. About 12 per cent of world trade, including a quarter of global container traffic, passes through it on the route between Europe and Asia through the Suez Canal. Lloyd’s List Intelligence said the Houthi attacks put oil shipments from Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu port at risk and created a “double whammy” alongside the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. It said Saudi Arabia had already diverted millions of barrels a day of oil exports to Yanbu through an overland pipeline as the war blocked the Persian Gulf.
Trump warned of “major military punishment” for the Houthis if attacks on ships continued. As the conflict widened, Iran said it had the right to manage traffic and possibly charge fees in the Strait of Hormuz, which had earlier been open toll-free. It has attacked ships using a route through the strait that is overseen by US forces and meant to remain outside Tehran’s control.
On social media, Trump said sanctioned Iranian funds held by the US would be used to cover the cost of repairing damage from the war. “Please let this statement serve to represent, until further notice, that from this point forth, any and all damages done to Ships, Cargo, or anything related thereto, will be paid for by Iranian Money that the United States has in its possession, and controls,” he said. Trump added that it would be “the fair and equitable thing to do”, though it remained unclear what legal route he would use. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi criticised the idea on X, saying, “once governments normalise confiscation, no one’s assets are safe. Ensuing chaos will not be pretty or peaceful.”
The latest explosions near Irbil, the continued US strikes inside Iran, the threat to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the sharp rise in oil prices underlined the growing regional and economic impact of the conflict centred on the Strait of Hormuz.
With PTI Inputs
A series of explosions was reported near a military base hosting US forces in northern Iraq on Friday, hours after the US military said it had completed its 13th straight night of strikes on Iran. An Associated Press journalist in Irbil heard at least seven blasts at around 9.30 am local time and saw at least four plumes of black smoke rising from areas near or inside the base.
The blasts came as fighting between the US and Iran continued to intensify over control of the Strait of Hormuz. Bahrain later activated its sirens twice and told residents to take shelter after detecting incoming fire, while Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said a day earlier that they had targeted two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea. Brent crude rose by more than 6 per cent to about USD 100 a barrel.
US Central Command said its latest strikes on Iran were meant to “further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters” as US forces try to regain control of the Strait of Hormuz. It said the strikes ended shortly before 5 am local time on Friday. The waterway carried a fifth of the world’s oil and gas in peacetime.
Iranian state media said four people were killed and nine injured in the US bombardment. Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi of Iraq, which has close ties with both the US and Iran, was in Tehran on Thursday to call for peace and dialogue. His office said he promised that Iraqi territory would not be used for attacks on Iran. Al-Zaidi had met US President Donald Trump in Washington earlier this month.
Iranian semiofficial news agencies Fars and ISNA said US strikes hit a Revolutionary Guard naval base in northern Iran. Overnight blasts were also reported on Qeshm Island, which stores naval assets including drone boats that Iran can use against vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, and in Isfahan province, which has a major air base and one of Iran’s nuclear sites. More strikes were also reported in Khuzestan in the southwest and in southern Fars province.
Iranian state media said a US missile strike on the outskirts of Ahvaz on the Karun River killed four people and injured five. It also reported two injuries in Lorestan province in western Iran and two more in the port city of Bandar Abbas, a key hub for military supplies and trade cargo.
The Houthis also threatened to shut down the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, another major shipping route linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. About 12 per cent of world trade, including a quarter of global container traffic, passes through it on the route between Europe and Asia through the Suez Canal. Lloyd’s List Intelligence said the Houthi attacks put oil shipments from Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu port at risk and created a “double whammy” alongside the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. It said Saudi Arabia had already diverted millions of barrels a day of oil exports to Yanbu through an overland pipeline as the war blocked the Persian Gulf.
Trump warned of “major military punishment” for the Houthis if attacks on ships continued. As the conflict widened, Iran said it had the right to manage traffic and possibly charge fees in the Strait of Hormuz, which had earlier been open toll-free. It has attacked ships using a route through the strait that is overseen by US forces and meant to remain outside Tehran’s control.
On social media, Trump said sanctioned Iranian funds held by the US would be used to cover the cost of repairing damage from the war. “Please let this statement serve to represent, until further notice, that from this point forth, any and all damages done to Ships, Cargo, or anything related thereto, will be paid for by Iranian Money that the United States has in its possession, and controls,” he said. Trump added that it would be “the fair and equitable thing to do”, though it remained unclear what legal route he would use. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi criticised the idea on X, saying, “once governments normalise confiscation, no one’s assets are safe. Ensuing chaos will not be pretty or peaceful.”
The latest explosions near Irbil, the continued US strikes inside Iran, the threat to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the sharp rise in oil prices underlined the growing regional and economic impact of the conflict centred on the Strait of Hormuz.
With PTI Inputs
