Iran’s top security official, Mohsen Rezaei, in an interview said the Islamic Republic’s position on the strategic waterway was directly linked to Washington’s military posture toward Tehran. Rezaei said, “Iran will commit to keeping the Strait of Hormuz open when the US neither threatens nor attacks Iran.” He added that Tehran is planning for a new restricted maritime area outside the Strait of Hormuz in the coming days, potentially extending restrictions into parts of the Persian Gulf.
In response to the US attack on three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warns of a “heavier and more painful response” to any new attacks. Tehran said it launched tit-for-tat strikes and attacked three oil tankers using an “unauthorised route” through the Strait of Hormuz, along with some US-linked ships, in response to American attacks on Iranian tankers over the weekend.
Meanwhile, US military denied that Iran struck an uncrewed American military vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, calling the claim a “total lie.”
Elsewhere in Lebanon, Israeli army on Monday ordered residents of Deir Zahrani in southern Lebanon to leave a specific zone ahead of strikes against Iran-backed Hezbollah. The army said, “Hezbollah’s terrorist activity compels the IDF to act forcefully against it,” and added that it was targeting a “Hezbollah terrorist facility.”
Israeli strikes on Kfar Reman in southern Lebanon overnight have killed at least 11 people. Nine people, including two infants, were killed in the Israeli strike on a three-story residential building in the southern Lebanese town. Five others were wounded. Two others were killed in an Israeli drone strike on a civilian vehicle in the town, the agency reported.
The Israeli military claimed it launched attacks overnight on the Hamas “infrastructure” in Gaza after one of its vehicles ran over an explosive device planted by the Palestinian group. It said the explosion took place in northern Gaza behind the “Yellow Line” area that its forces occupy. There were no injuries, it said.The incident comes amid continued Israeli attacks across Gaza despite the US-brokered ceasefire.