Tanker fire off Oman leaves one dead, two missing, UKMTO says

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Wednesday that policies pursued by Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei were aimed at distancing regional countries from the United States and Israel.

Pezeshkian said the enemy had sought to mobilize Arab and Muslim countries against Iran, but that the effort was being countered.

“The policies being pursued today, and which our dear leader is following, are also defeating this plan, so that regional countries distance themselves from the United States and Israel, and this process is moving forward,” he said.

Pezeshkian said he had met the Supreme Leader every week without exception over the past year and a half.

He also said that Iran’s adversaries intended to fuel internal divisions, arguing that no country could be forced to surrender through bombing or threats.

Commenting on the killing of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, he said it was unacceptable that enemy forces could “so easily” kill Iranian commanders and officials.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday that contradictory US messages and repeated ceasefire breaches had damaged the diplomatic process.

Esmaeil Baghaei said Iran’s armed forces “would not hesitate for a moment” to respond whenever they find it necessary.

He said branches of government were fully coordinated and would use diplomacy or military force to defend the country.

The United Arab Emirates on Wednesday strongly condemned Iranian missile and drone attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, calling them a violation of the three countries’ sovereignty and a threat to their security and stability.

The UAE foreign ministry expressed full solidarity with Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan and said it supported any measures taken by the three countries to protect their security and stability.

An explosion was heard near Qeshm Island in southern Iran on Wednesday, semi-official Mehr News reported, citing local sources.

The report said the cause was not immediately clear, adding that the sound may have come from a distant blast or activity in the Strait of Hormuz.

The governor of Qeshm said later that no explosion had occurred on the island and that the blast sound heard in the area did not originate there.

Iran’s overnight missile and drone operation against the US regional bases hit 70% of its targets, IRGC-linked Fars News reported on Wednesday, citing a military source.

The source said the assessment was based on “satellite images and information sent by field sources to Iran’s foreign intelligence service.”

Long-range ballistic missiles and drones passed through air defense systems at US bases and hit pre-selected targets in Azraq, Jordan, Ali Al Salem in Kuwait and the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet base in Bahrain, according to the report.

Reuters reported earlier citing initial US assessments that nearly all of the missiles and drones launched by Iran at US military facilities in the region were intercepted.