Iran also sent drones towards an air base in the United Arab Emirates, with that country’s defense ministry stating its air force had “engaged” at least one drone.
Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs cautioned that the country’s forces would “firmly respond as appropriate to any military aggression,” according to a statement from the semiofficial Fars news agency.
Last week, President Donald Trump claimed that all mines placed by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz had been removed or detonated, adding that Iran was warned any vessel attempting to lay new ones would be destroyed.
CENTCOM rejected Tehran’s characterization of its attack as an act of “aggression,” stating in its post that “Iran created the threat and the U. S. military eliminated it to protect civilian mariners, commercial shipping, and the free flow of global commerce.”
Larak Island, which was hit by U. S. strikes, is a small Iranian island located off Bandar Abbas in the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial trade route through which about 20% of the world’s oil flowed before the war began.
This vital waterway has mostly been closed during the conflict, with Iran implementing a blockade on trade routes that have driven energy prices up significantly while the U. S. has established its own blockade on Iranian ports in response.
On his Truth Social platform, Trump seemed to hint at further actions against Iran by posting what looked like an AI-generated video showing a military member looking out from an aircraft while what appears to be oil infrastructure explodes.
“Kharg Island being blown to smithereens!!!” read the caption on the video along with Trump’s sign-off. Before the war started, Kharg Island- which Trump has frequently threatened to capture- accounted for over 90% of Iran’s oil exports.
An Iranian energy official dismissed Trump’s apparent threat as absurd, telling Fars news agency that posts were “absurd and the situation on Kharg is calm and stable.”
He mentioned oil operations hadn’t ceased and workers were busy repairing previous damage “without interruption.”
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