Figaro: The United States bombed Iran again on Monday. It said it struck dozens of targets, while Téhéran said it hit military bases in the Golfe used by Washington.
The American army began the new strikes at 0 h 30 heure de Téhéran and said they ended a little more than five hours later. Centcom said the target set included air defense systems, coastal radars, missile and drone capabilities, and small boats.
Centcom and the détroit d’Ormuz
Centcom said the operation aimed to damage Iran's control over the détroit d’Ormuz and to stop attacks on civilian crews and commercial ships there. The United States linked that argument to the weekend attack on the GFS Galaxy, a Cypriot-flagged container ship, in the détroit d’Ormuz.
Oman said 23 crew members were rescued from the GFS Galaxy and one remained missing. For a crew still counting one missing, the escalation moved from a regional standoff to a shipping problem with a direct human cost.
Iran's diplomacy condemned the latest American bombings and said Washington had ruined months of efforts to restore peace in the region. That clashes with the American account, which presents the strikes as a way to stop attacks on ships and crews rather than to widen the fight.
GFS Galaxy and the Gulf
Iranian state media said the strikes hit large areas of western and southern Iran, including Qeshm, Bandar Abbas, and Khouzistan. A strike in Mahchahr killed at least one person and wounded four others, according to a local official cited by Irna, and Irna said a strike on Farur on Sunday evening left one dead and two wounded.
The Gardiens de la Révolution said they bombed military bases in the Golfe used by the U.S. army in Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait. Irna reported attacks on the Prince Hassan air base in Jordan and the Ali al-Salem and Ahmad al-Jaber bases in Kuwait, as well as the American drone command center in Bahrain.
Sirens sounded in Bahrain early Monday, and they had sounded there the day before. On Sunday, the Iranian army launched three missiles at Jordan, according to the Jordanian army.
The renewed hostilities over the weekend and Iran's announcement of a new closure of the détroit d’Ormuz pushed oil prices sharply higher Monday morning. The market reacted before the strikes were even over, which is the clearest sign that shipping through the passage is now the first economic channel under pressure.
