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After the U.S. launched strikes on Iranian territory Friday, Iran responded early Saturday with strikes on Gulf states which host U.S. bases, and another suspected Iranian drone attack on a tanker was reported in the Strait of Hormuz, as negotiations to reach a final settlement to end the Iran War entered their 10th day.
U.S. Central Command said Friday they had targeted Iranian drone and missile storage locations and radar sites following an attack on a Singapore-flagged ship in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s IRGC had warned ships that they must coordinate their transits with the Iranian government and follow designated routes through Iranian waters. Some ships have recently used an alternative route along the coast of Oman, where the Singapore-flagged vessel was struck.
In response to CENTCOM’s bombing, Iran said it launched “defensive” attacks on U.S. military targets, with Bahrain’s foreign ministry condemning drone attacks against its territory.
Israel continued to bomb and occupy Lebanon on Saturday, one day after signing a framework agreement with the U.S. and Lebanese government. Under the reported agreement, Israeli forces will continue to occupy southern Lebanon, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tying any withdrawal to the disarmament of Hezbollah.
The framework, spearheaded by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, risks undermining deconfliction in Lebanon organized by Vice President J.D. Vance and outlined in an interim peace agreement to end the Iran War signed by President Donald Trump, which calls for the “immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon” and “ensuring the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon.”
The Times of Israel reported that it was “specifically the deconfliction mechanism that Vance announced regarding Lebanon that infuriated Israel, which has argued that Iran should have no say on what happens in the country.” Iran considers the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territory a precondition to any lasting peace.
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Hezbollah rejected the framework Friday, pledging to continue to fight until Israeli forces leave Lebanese territory and cautioning that provisions calling on Lebanese government forces to disarm the group could fracture the country along sectarian lines and lead to “civil war.” Comprehensive polling by the International Information Company in Lebanon and cited by The Jerusalem Post shows that the country remains divided on the issue of disarming Hezbollah: Eighty-eight percent of Shiite and 70 percent of Sunni respondents oppose Hezbollah’s disarmament while 89 percent of Orthodox Christians, 87 percent of Maronites, and 77 percent of Druze support it.
The price of Brent Crude oil closed below $72 on Friday while AAA reported the national average price of regular gas at $3.88.
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