DUBAI: Iran tried to seize two oil tankers near the strategic Strait of Hormuz early Wednesday, firing shots at one of them, the US Navy said.
It said that in both cases, the Iranian naval vessels backed off after the US Navy responded, and that both commercial ships continued their voyages.
“The Iranian navy did make attempts to seize commercial tankers lawfully transiting international waters,” said Cmdr. Tim Hawkins, spokesman for the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet. “The US Navy responded immediately and prevented those seizures.”
He said the gunfire directed at the second vessel did not cause casualties or major damage.
There was no immediate Iranian comment on the incidents.
Ambrey, a maritime intelligence service, said the tanker that was fired upon was a Bahamas-flagged, Greek-owned, US managed crude oil tanker transiting from the United Arab Emirates to Singapore. It said the firing of shots happened 28 nautical miles northeast of Muscat, the capital of Oman.
The US Navy says Iran has seized at least five commercial vessels in the last two years and has harassed several others. Many of the incidents have occurred in and around the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Arabian Gulf through which 20 percent of all crude oil passes.
In April, masked Iranian navy commandos conducted a helicopter-borne raid to seize a US-bound oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman, footage of which was aired on Iranian state TV. Iran said the tanker was seized after it collided with another Iranian vessel but provided no evidence. In the past, Iran has seized commercial vessels to use as bargaining chips with the West.
US-Iranian tensions have steadily risen since the Trump administration unilaterally withdrew from Iran’s 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers and restored crippling sanctions. Iran has responded by ramping up its nuclear activities — which it says are purely peaceful — and is also providing armed drones to Russia for its war against Ukraine.
Iran tried to seize 2 oil tankers near Strait of Hormuz and fired shots at one of them, US Navy says
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Iran tried to seize 2 oil tankers near Strait of Hormuz and fired shots at one of them, US Navy says
- “The Iranian navy did make attempts to seize commercial tankers lawfully transiting international waters,” said Cmdr. Tim Hawkins
- He said the gunfire directed at the second vessel did not cause casualties or major damage
Long-shuttered US ambassador’s residence in Damascus is reopened as Washington mends ties with Syria
Long-shuttered US ambassador’s residence in Damascus is reopened as Washington mends ties with Syria
- The US ambassador to Turkiye, Tom Barrack, who has also been appointed special envoy to Syria, arrived to inaugurate the residence
The US ambassador to Turkiye, Tom Barrack, who has also been appointed special envoy to Syria, arrived to inaugurate the residence, Syrian state-run news agency SANA reported.
Washington hasn’t formally reopened its embassy in Damascus, which closed in 2012 after protests against the government of then President Bashar Assad, met by a brutal crackdown, spiraled into civil war. Assad was unseated in December in a lightning rebel offensive.
But Barrack’s visit and the raising of the flag were a significant signal of warming relations.
Washington was initially circumspect about Syria’s new leaders, led by Ahmad Al-Sharaa, the former leader of an Islamist insurgent group that the US still lists as a terrorist organization. However, the Trump administration — encouraged by two US allies in the region, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye — has in recent weeks shown increasing openness to Damascus.
Trump held a surprise meeting with Al-Sharaa in Riyadh earlier this month, and the US has begun to roll back decades of sanctions slapped on Syria under the Assad dynasty.
The US State Department posted a statement on X on Thursday attributed to Trump announcing Barrack’s appointment as envoy to Syria.
“Tom understands there is great potential in working with Syria to stop Radicalism, improve Relations, and secure Peace in the Middle East. Together, we will Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN!” the statement said.
Barrack thanked Trump in an X post for “your bold vision, empowering a historically rich region, long oppressed, to reclaim its destiny through self-determination.”
US envoy for Syria arrives in Damascus for historic visit
- The US flag was hoisted Thursday outside of the long-shuttered ambassador’s residence in Damascus
- Washington was initially circumspect about Syria’s new leaders, led by Ahmad Al-Sharaa, the former leader of an Islamist insurgent group
DAMASCUS: The US envoy for Syria, Thomas Barrack, arrived at the ambassador’s residence in the Syrian capital on Thursday, in the first official visit since the US embassy there closed in 2012, a year after Syria’s conflict broke out.
Barrack, accompanied by the Syrian foreign minister, was appointed to the Syria role on May 23. He is also the US ambassador to Turkiye.
The US flag was hoisted Thursday outside of the long-shuttered ambassador’s residence in Damascus, in a sign of growing ties between Washington and the new Syrian government.
Barrack, who has also been appointed special envoy to Syria, arrived to inaugurate the residence, Syrian state-run news agency SANA reported.
Washington hasn’t formally reopened its embassy in Damascus, which closed in 2012 after protests against the government of then President Bashar Assad, met by a brutal crackdown, spiraled into civil war. Assad was unseated in December in a lightning rebel offensive.
But Barrack’s visit and the raising of the flag were a significant signal of warming relations.
Washington was initially circumspect about Syria’s new leaders, led by Ahmad Al-Sharaa, the former leader of an Islamist insurgent group that the US still lists as a terrorist organization. However, the Trump administration — encouraged by two US allies in the region, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye — has in recent weeks shown increasing openness to Damascus.
Trump held a surprise meeting with Al-Sharaa in Riyadh earlier this month, and the US has begun to roll back decades of sanctions slapped on Syria under the Assad dynasty.
The US State Department posted a statement on X on Thursday attributed to Trump announcing Barrack’s appointment as envoy to Syria.
“Tom understands there is great potential in working with Syria to stop Radicalism, improve Relations, and secure Peace in the Middle East. Together, we will Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN!” the statement said.
Barrack thanked Trump in an X post for “your bold vision, empowering a historically rich region, long oppressed, to reclaim its destiny through self-determination.”
Arab League welcomes EU shift on Israel as Western discourse begins to change
- EU backing for agreement review signals growing international pressure on Israel
- Arab League urges political solution amid mounting humanitarian crisis in Gaza
DUBAI: The Arab League on Wednesday welcomed the shift in Western discourse on the Gaza conflict, praising the “strong majority” of EU member states backing a review of the EU-Israel partnership.
At least 17 out of 27 EU member states are calling for a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. This review, initiated by a proposal from the Netherlands, is rooted in the agreement’s foundational requirement for adherence to human rights and democratic principles.
The league noted that many Western governments, influential voices across political, civil, intellectual, and media sectors have begun to express deep concern over the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and the occupied Palestinian territories.
For a time, these actors had been swayed by Israeli narratives surrounding the events of Oct. 7, 2023, remaining largely confined to a discourse emphasizing “Israel’s right to self-defense,” a statement by the Arab League said.
The increasingly “visible brutality of military operations against civilians — especially women and children — has shattered the credibility of that argument,” the statement said.
The Arab League stressed that such a narrative has proven hollow in the face of widespread violations of international humanitarian law.
The league said that resolute positions aimed at recognizing the State of Palestine, threatening sanctions against Israel, banning arms sales, freezing free trade negotiations, and prohibiting the import of settler products represent significant steps toward increasing international pressure to end the war.
These measures offer an encouraging prelude to a more accurate and just understanding of this long-standing conflict, aligned with the vision of a two-state solution, the league said.
The recent Madrid Conference, attended by the secretary-general of the Arab League, marked a significant diplomatic effort to address the ongoing crisis. The gathering aimed to explore a viable political resolution to the conflict, emphasizing a two-state solution.
Meanwhile, ongoing Israeli incursions into the West Bank and increasingly provocative actions in Jerusalem have further escalated tensions. Regional leaders and human rights organizations warn that the conflict has reached a dangerous low point, marked by systematic violations of international law.
Cholera outbreak in Sudan capital kills 70 in 2 days: health ministry
- Health ministry for Khartoum State said it had recorded 942 new infections and 25 deaths on Wednesday
- Army-backed government announced last week that it had dislodged RSF fighters from their last positions in Khartoum State
PORT SUDAN, Sudan: A cholera outbreak in Sudan’s capital has killed 70 people in two days, health officials said, as Khartoum battles a fast-spreading epidemic amid a collapse of basic services.
The health ministry for Khartoum State said it had recorded 942 new infections and 25 deaths on Wednesday, following 1,177 cases and 45 deaths on Tuesday.
The surge in infections comes weeks after drone strikes blamed on the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) knocked out the water and electricity supply across the capital.
The army-backed government announced last week that it had dislodged RSF fighters from their last positions in Khartoum State two months after retaking the heart of the capital from the paramilitaries.
Greater Khartoum had been a battleground for much of the previous two years, and suffered massive damage to housing and infrastructure.
The cholera outbreak has piled further pressure on an already overwhelmed health care system.
The federal health ministry reported 172 deaths in the week to Tuesday, 90 percent of them in Khartoum State.
Authorities say 89 percent of patients in isolation centers are recovering, but warn that deteriorating environmental conditions are driving a surge in cases.
The war between the paramilitaries and the regular army has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced 13 million in what the United Nations has described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Up to 90 percent of hospitals in the conflict’s main battlegrounds have been forced out of service by the fighting.
Israel authorizes more Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank
- They would include new settlements and the legalization of outposts already built without government authorization
JERUSALEM: Israel said Thursday it would establish 22 new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.
They would include new settlements and the legalization of outposts already built without government authorization.
Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war and the Palestinians want it to be the main part of their future state.
