Dubai, Aug 15: The United Arab Emirates accused Iran of attacking a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, while the Iran-backed Houthis struck a Red Sea port in Yemen.
In Southern Lebanon, nine people were killed in Israeli airstrikes, some of the deadliest since a shaky truce between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect on June 20.
Here’s a look at the latest developments in the Iran war and the wider Middle East. Full coverage can be found here.
A vessel is attacked in the Strait of Hormuz
A tanker owned by Abu Dhabi’s state-owned oil and gas company ADNOC was attacked while transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, Emirati state-run WAM news agency said Saturday.
The attack happened Friday evening, and there were no injuries, the agency reported. This is the third such attack on vessels operated by ADNOC in the critical waterway in the last week.
In a statement on Saturday, the United Arab Emirates blamed Iran for the attack and called on it to stop the unprovoked strikes.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said that a bulk carrier was struck by an unknown projectile that hit the hull on Friday. It was not immediately clear if it was the same vessel.
Shipping has been disrupted and the strait has been virtually closed since the Iran war started on February 28 with US and Israeli strikes on Iran. About one-fifth of the world’s traded oil and natural gas passed through the waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf before the war.
The attacks in the strait have continued as Iran seeks to control the key waterway as a form of leverage. Talks between the US and Iran have stalled while Iran is in discussions with Oman about how to manage the passageway.
Israeli strikes kill 9 in southern Lebanon
Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon killed at least nine people Saturday, in some of the deadliest attacks since a precarious truce between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect on June 20.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry and state news agency said one of the airstrikes that targeted a home on the edge of the village of Ansar killed seven people, including three children, and wounded two. The second, on the village of Deir al-Zahrani, killed two and wounded nine.
The death toll from the airstrikes makes it one of the deadliest days since the Lebanese government and Israel announced a “framework agreement” in June laying out a plan for Israeli forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon in exchange for the disarmament of the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.
Hezbollah refused direct talks and was not part of the agreement.
Israel said it struck Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon in response to actions taken by the group against Israeli soldiers operating in the security zone.
Houthis in Yemen attack Red Sea port, killing at least 1
Yemen’s military said Saturday the Iranian-backed Houthis attacked a crucial Red Sea port under the control of the internationally recognised government, killing at least one security guard.
Colonel Majed al-Nazili, the spokesman for the military, said in a statement that the Houthis fired six ballistic missiles Friday evening on the Mokha port, in a “new terrorist aggression that targeted a vital civilian facility.” He said the attack wounded eight people and left two marines missing.
The attack was the latest by the Houthis on government-held areas and on Saudi Arabia and part of an escalation threatening to plunge Yemen into a full-fledged conflict. A 2022 ceasefire stopped heavy fighting during the country’s civil war.
Analysts say the Houthi escalation reflects how Iran is scaling up pressure on the United States and its regional allies. (AP)
