The Strait of Hormuz has transformed in recent hours into a full-scale showdown between the United States, which insists on keeping the international waterway open to shipping, and Iran, which is attempting to extort the world through its piracy in the strait and its repeated blatant aggression against countries in the region — aggression that the United Arab Emirates condemned in the strongest terms, describing the attacks as a flagrant violation of national sovereignty and a threat to security and stability.
The United States launched yesterday a new and wide-ranging wave of strikes on multiple sites across Iran aimed at undermining its ability to threaten navigation, described as the most intense since the memorandum of understanding was signed last June.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that it had targeted more than 90 Iranian military sites.
Sources said Washington is preparing for an open-ended military confrontation with Iran to force it to halt its threats to navigation, and that the duration of the escalation will depend on whether Tehran continues to target commercial vessels in the vital waterway.
Axios quoted a US official as saying the current escalation "could last a day or two, or a week or a month."
This coincided with fresh Iranian aggression against Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan, which was met with a broad wave of condemnations. The United Arab Emirates condemned the attacks and what they represent as a flagrant violation of sovereignty and a threat to security and stability.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, expressed his strong condemnation of the renewed Iranian aggressive attacks during phone calls with the foreign ministers of Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Kingdom. He also condemned the targeting of the Qatari tanker Al Rukayat and the continuation of Iranian aggressive attacks in the strait, which constitute a grave threat to the safety and security of international navigation.