Iran has claimed that it carried out drone strikes targeting US naval leadership in the Gulf, alleging that a high-level command gathering was hit near the Al Minhad base in the United Arab Emirates.
In a statement, the Iranian Navy said a "secret US Army command centre" outside the base was identified through intelligence monitoring and "destroyed." It claimed that around 200 American officers and commanders were present at the site at the moment of impact.
The statement further alleged that the "temporary residence of the commanders of the US Fifth Fleet was identified and precisely struck with a drone during the commanders' meeting formation." Iran also warned that US bases in the region have become unsafe for senior personnel. There has been no confirmation from US Central Command as of now.
This comes hours after US and Israeli strikes hit military facilities in central Iran, damaged a major religious site in the northwest, and provoked power cuts, following US President Donald Trump's threat to blow up the country's oil and energy plants.
Video footage verified by AFP showed at least two massive explosions and columns of smoke in Isfahan, central Iran. State media reported that the Grand Husseiniya, a Shia religious centre, was damaged in Zanjan in the northwest.
Iran's Fars news agency reported explosions and power outages in parts of Tehran, where residents described a city trying to maintain some routine despite tight security.
Oil prices were again climbing steadily as markets weighed Trump's confidence that Tehran would soon buckle to military pressure and accept a deal against fears that a possible US ground operation in the Gulf could further escalate the conflict.
Explosions were also heard in Dubai and near Erbil airport in northern Iraq, while sirens sounded in Jerusalem. Two people were wounded when air defence intercepted a drone near the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, civil defence said. Israeli emergency services reported that eight people received minor injuries from falling munitions fragments in Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, and at least 10 blasts were heard in the Jerusalem area following missile launches from Iran.
Trump warned on Monday that if Iran did not strike a war-ending deal — which included reopening the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane — US forces would destroy all of Tehran's oil wells, its main Kharg Island export terminal, power systems, and possibly desalination plants.
However, the Wall Street Journal reported that he also told aides he was willing to end the war even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed, likely strengthening Tehran's control over the waterway.
Refusing to back down, an Iranian parliamentary committee voted to impose tolls on vessels in the strait — the passageway through which one-fifth of global oil passes — and completely ban ships from the United States and Israel.
