By JON GAMBRELL
Dubai- A series of mysterious, unclaimed airstrikes that hit Iran after the US said it finished its attacks have again raised questions of who else may be targeting the Islamic Republic.
The strikes Thursday, just as Iran prepared to bury the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, hit areas across southern Iran. Tehran hasn’t directly blamed anyone for the strikes, though one lawmaker issued a warning to the United Arab Emirates over allegedly providing support to the United States in its campaign against Iran.
The attacks come as the US insists the Strait of Hormuz must be open and free to ships to transit. Iran insists the strait, through which about a fifth of all oil and natural gas passes, must now be under its sole control and that vessels should begin to pay fees to Tehran.
Iran’s grip on the strait during the war led to a global energy crisis, though oil prices have sharply dropped since wartime highs of USD 120 a barrel.
Israel, which took part in the Iran war, also has not claimed any recent attacks on Iran.
Was UAE behind these strikes
The US military’s Central Command said Thursday around 6:30 am local Iran time that it had concluded a round of strikes that saw some 90 targets hit. Shortly after that, Iranian news outlets reported a series of airstrikes and explosions targeting the country’s Bushehr and Sistan and Baluchestan provinces, the cities of Ahvaz and Chabahar and other areas.
Central Command did not respond to a request for comment over the additional strikes.
Iran responded to the strikes Thursday by launching a wider volley of attacks across the Mideast, targeting US bases in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar. Missile alert sirens sounded in the four countries, sending people to seek shelter. One person was reportedly hurt in Kuwait as air defence systems targeted the incoming fire across the region.
The leader of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, travelled to Kuwait immediately after the Iranian attack for a meeting with the small, oil-rich nation’s ruling emir. Gulf Arab countries also held calls with Qatar’s foreign minister, who has been deeply involved along with Pakistan in mediating talks between Iran and the US over the interim deal now in place to halt the return of open warfare.
During the Iran war, officials say both Saudi Arabia and the UAE launched airstrikes targeting Iran after Tehran struck energy sites in their countries.
Israel, which under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has engaged in an intense campaign against Iran, has not attacked the Islamic Republic since June. Israel also broadly immediately claims its attacks on Iran.
Israel’s government said Netanyahu spoke with Trump on Thursday night, with Trump updating Netanyahu “on American moves in the Gulf”.
On Friday Esmail Kousari, a member of the Iranian parliament’s national security committee, warned that the UAE would “pay the price for its cooperation with the United States.” He accused the UAE of having a “behind-the-scenes” role in the recent US attacks.
Iran repeatedly accused Gulf Arab states of actively supporting the US war effort, something they denied during the war. The US since the 1991 Gulf War has maintained a broad footprint of military bases across the Gulf Arab states, including in Bahrain, which is home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters. (AP)
This article has been automatically published using a syndicated feed. The content is sourced externally and may not have been reviewed by The Freelancers Team.
