NATO chief says new US strikes on Iran were ‘absolutely necessary’

Iran’s attacks on Qatari and Saudi commercial tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and repeated attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait showed Tehran was incapable of committing to de-escalation, said the adviser to the president of the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday.

Anwar Gargash said the attacks were a clear sign that Iran had not met the requirements for “turning the page on war.”

He added in a post on X that countries in the region could not remain targets of “Iran’s wavering between the logic of escalation and the path of reason, stability and peace.”

Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten said on Wednesday it was important to show Iran that breaches of the fragile Middle East ceasefire would not be accepted.

“It is important to show you don’t accept breaches of the ceasefire,” Jetten told reporters before a NATO summit in Ankara.

“At the same time, you must apply maximum diplomatic pressure to make sure talks continue and a solution is reached,” he said.

Iran’s army said on Wednesday its attack drones had struck US troop positions at Isa Air Base in Bahrain.

The army’s public relations office said the strikes began early Wednesday and targeted what it called “gathering centers of hostile US forces” at the base.

“All US bases in the region will be legitimate targets for the army’s drones,” it said.

It said the attack was a consequence of what it described as repeated US violations of the ceasefire.

Iran’s hardline Kayhan daily on Wednesday called for US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be killed, saying revenge for the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei should be declared openly.

The newspaper, whose editor-in-chief is appointed by the office of the Supreme Leader, called continued talks with the United States “shameful,” saying, “Negotiations are meaningless when they have assassinated our Imam and are still threatening us.”

It said Trump and Netanyahu “must not stay alive” and added that more than $100 million had been raised by people as a reward for anyone who kills the US president.

The daily called attacks on US military bases, embassies and companies worldwide the only way to “restore balance.”

Tens of millions of barrels of Iranian oil on tankers were left in limbo after the United States revoked a 60-day waiver allowing Tehran to sell crude, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.

About 63 million barrels of Iranian oil are currently on the water, either in transit or idling, according to Bloomberg calculations based on Vortexa data. The crude is on vessels in the Persian Gulf and across Asian waters, with many ships not showing a clear destination or signaling they are available for orders.

Meanwhile, a handful of vessels appeared to pass through the Strait of Hormuz early on Wednesday despite a series of attacks on tankers that left shipowners assessing the risks of operating in the key waterway, Bloomberg reported separately.