Iran reports calm night amid heightened tensions
CAIRO — Iran reported no strikes overnight in an apparent break of nearly two weeks of consecutive nights of U.S. attacks, though tension remains high following a recent escalation over control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, reports BritPanorama.
“Iran had a peaceful night,” Health Ministry spokesperson Hossein Kermanpour posted on X. The U.S. Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, unlike the previous 13 nights, it did not announce new strikes.
Sirens sounded multiple times on Saturday in Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu and Jizan provinces, which house crucial oil facilities on the Red Sea, according to the Saudi Civil Defense. The alert was described as a “potential danger” that was later lifted, without providing further details. Bahrain also sounded missile alerts, but no casualties have been reported.
A tenuous ceasefire that appeared to halt major operations in the conflict sparked by American and Israeli attacks on Iran seemed to unravel in early July. Iran was accused of striking three ships in the strait. The U.S. responded by striking dozens of targets in Iran, which retaliated by firing at Arab states in the region.
The Strait of Hormuz, a crucial passage for world energy supplies, has been central to the conflict. The U.S. military fired on Friday at a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Oman that attempted to breach its renewed blockade of Iran’s ports, while Iran targeted U.S.-allied Gulf Arab countries.
Iran’s Houthi allies targeted two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea this week, raising concerns the group may again try to block Red Sea shipping routes. In response, Saudi Arabia struck the port city of Hodeida in Yemen, according to the Saudi-led coalition.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called for “diplomacy and dialogue” to resolve the Yemen conflict without “military confrontations” in an interview published on Saturday in the state-run Iran newspaper.
On Friday, U.S. embassies in the Middle East alerted Americans in the region that options to leave could become more limited, as Iran’s Revolutionary Guard advised residents of neighboring countries to stay away from bases with U.S. troops.
The war has so far killed more than 3,400 people in Iran, according to the Iranian Health Ministry. Eighteen U.S. service members, 24 civilians in Israel, and smaller numbers of civilians have been reported dead across the region.
In Lebanon, over 4,000 people have been killed, including 38 Israeli troops, after the Iran-backed Hezbollah militants fired at Israel in support of the Islamic Republic.
