On Saturday, a fragile ceasefire appeared to hold after the United States attacked two Iranian oil tankers.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy warned Saturday that any Iranian oil tanker attacked Even if the ceasefire appears to be holding, a U.S. base and enemy ships in the area will come under “violent attack.”
Iranian state television reported the warning a day after the United States attacked two Iranian oil tankers, casting doubt on a ceasefire the United States struck a month ago. Persistence is still effective today. The U.S. military said the tankers were trying to break through a blockade of Iranian ports.
Meanwhile, Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s regional headquarters, said it had arrested dozens of people allegedly linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
Washington awaits Iran’s response to its latest proposal for a deal to end the war and reopen Strait of Hormuz Deliver and stop Tehran’s controversial nuclear program. and the president of russia Vladimir Putin said Moscow’s proposal to obtain enriched uranium from Iran to help negotiate a solution was still under discussion.
Bahrain says arrests linked to Guard funding attempt
Bahrain said it had arrested 41 people it said belonged to groups affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards. The Interior Ministry said investigations confirmed they had links to the Guard and collected funds “with the intention of sending them to Iran” to support its “terrorist operations”.
The tiny Persian Gulf island is led by a Sunni Muslim monarchy but, like Iran, has a Shia majority population. Human rights groups say Saudi Arabia is using the war between Iran and the United States as an excuse to crack down on dissent. The U.S. Fifth Fleet is based in Bahrain.
Iran issued a warning to Bahrain: “Supporting the US-backed resolution will have serious consequences. The Strait of Hormuz is a vital lifeline; do not risk closing it permanently,” Ibrahim Aziz, chairman of the Iranian parliament’s National Security Committee, said on social media.
Since the United States and Israel launched a war on February 28, Iran has essentially blocked key global energy channels, causing global fuel prices to soar. disrupt world markets.
The United States has also imposed a blockade on Iranian ports. U.S. Central Command said on Saturday that its forces had repelled 58 commercial ships and “disabled” four merchant ships since the blockade began on April 13.
UK deploys warships to Middle East
The British Ministry of Defense said it was deploying a warship to the Middle East to participate in a potential mission to protect commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz once hostilities end.
The ministry said HMS Dragon would be “pre-positioned” in the area, ready to join the British and French-led security plan. France announced this week that it would move its aircraft carrier strike group to the Red Sea in preparation.
Britain and France have led a coalition of dozens of countries to re-establish freedom of navigation in the strait. But they stressed that action would only begin if a sustainable ceasefire was achieved and the shipping industry was confident that ships could safely pass through the strait.
Diplomacy continues “day and night”
President of the United States Donald Trump have repeated threats If Iran does not accept a deal to reopen the strait and reduce its nuclear program, the United States will resume all-out bombing. On Friday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said the country was not paying attention to “the deadline,” the Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
Diplomacy continues. prime minister of pakistan Shehbaz Sharif He said his country has been engaging with the United States and Iran “around the clock” in an effort to extend the ceasefire and reach a peace deal.
Russia and Saudi Arabia called for diplomatic efforts to reach a “sustainable long-term agreement” to end the war, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Separately, Putin told reporters in Moscow, Enriched uranium from Iran Helping negotiate a solution would allow everyone to see “how many of them are there and where they are located” and that “all of them will be under the control of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog.”
Senior Egyptian and Qatari diplomats reiterated that diplomacy is the only way to resolve the issue, according to a call between the two foreign ministers.
Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, remains neither seen nor heard in public since the war began, fueling speculation about his status.
On Friday, a senior Iranian official said Khamenei was in “good health” and would eventually appear in public. Mazaher Hosseini, affiliated with the office Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali KhameneiHe, who was killed at the start of the war, made the remarks at a pro-government rally. Husseini said Khamenei’s son Moitaba suffered knee and back injuries in attacks early in the war but has largely recovered.
Magdi reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. all rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
