6:51 a.m. – Iran says it has stopped three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards announced that they had stopped three oil tankers trying to cross the Strait of Hormuz, without specifying when, in a press release relayed by the official Iranian agency Irna.
Three oil tankers tried to “take the mined passage in the south of the Strait of Hormuz,” says the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iran’s ideological army, “but after one of them exploded and caught fire, the other two quickly turned around and left.”
6:44 a.m. – Iran threatens “powerful” response
The head of Iranian diplomacy warned the United States on Wednesday against a “powerful” response after Donald Trump threatened to bomb Iranian power plants and bridges with each ship attack in the Strait of Hormuz.
“Our defense doctrine is clear: an eye for an eye. Any aggression against Iran, including against our infrastructure, will result in a powerful response,” Abbas Araghchi said on
The night’s news
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Yemen’s pro-Iranian Houthis have claimed strikes against “two Saudi oil tankers” in the Red Sea, identified as the Encelia and the Layla, after announcing a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia.
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Kuwait: the army says it is responding to “hostile drone attacks”. “Any explosion that could be heard results from the interception by anti-aircraft defense systems” of “hostile” projectiles.
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The US Middle East Command (Centcom) said it had completed a 12th consecutive night of strikes on Iran. It said US forces – which are imposing a maritime blockade of Iran – had “diverted nine commercial vessels and detained one in order to prevent vessels from entering or leaving Iranian ports”.
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The United States announced that it had concluded an agreement with Saudi Arabia on civil nuclear power, “laying the legal foundations for a partnership lasting several decades”, in particular to strengthen Saudi energy infrastructure.
