DUBAI, U.A.E.: As Iranians buried Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the shrine in Mashhad, their armed forces carried out retaliatory attacks on U.S. military sites in Middle Eastern countries on Thursday.
This came after U.S. strikes on Iran’s southern and eastern areas and added more pressure to a ceasefire that had been in place for three weeks.
Khamenei was killed in a U.S.-Israeli airstrike on February 28, the first day of the war. His body was taken slowly by truck through crowded streets to the Shrine of Imam Reza. People dressed in black waved Iranian flags, held photos of the late leader, and carried red signs with revolutionary slogans.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy said U.S. actions, including redirecting ships through the Strait of Hormuz, were disrupting efforts to reopen the waterway. It said traffic in the strait had recovered to about half of normal levels over the past two weeks, and that only ships following routes set by Iran were being allowed through.
The Guards warned that any further U.S. action would lead to a “crushing response”.
The U.S. military said on July 8 that its latest strikes were meant to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, after accusing Iranian forces of attacking three tankers in the area. The strikes happened just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump said he believed the temporary ceasefire with Iran was “over”.
Iran has not claimed responsibility for the tanker attacks, but analysts say it may use such actions to gain an advantage in negotiations.
Oil prices, which had risen amid concerns about shipping and global supply, fell again on July 9 as investors considered whether the tensions were temporary or could lead to a full collapse of the ceasefire.
Iranian officials said U.S. strikes on July 8 and 9 killed 14 people and injured 78 across five provinces, according to state media. The Fars news agency said one strike hit a railway bridge used for trade with Russia and China.
Explosions were reported on the morning of July 9 in Bushehr province and in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, according to the semi-official Mehr news agency.
Bushehr is home to a nuclear power plant built by Russia. A local official said a U.S. strike hit the outer area of the facility, which had already been targeted several times earlier in the conflict before an April 8 ceasefire.
U.S. strikes also hit a military site and a fishing dock in Bushehr province, a deputy governor said.
Iran’s army said it had launched drone attacks on U.S. Patriot missile systems in Kuwait, an early warning site in Qatar, and a U.S. army fuel storage facility in Bahrain.
Kuwait said its forces intercepted a cruise missile, three ballistic missiles, and 10 drones in its airspace, and reported that one person was injured by falling debris.
