Iran alleges US cruise missile attack in northern Golestan, warns of retaliation
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Thursday claimed that a US cruise missile struck the Aq Taka Khan bridge area in Aqqala, in Iran’s northern Golestan province. According to Iran’s Fars news agency, the IRGC’s Golestan branch said the attack caused no casualties and vowed a “crushing” response.
The latest strike comes as the US military confirmed it had launched fresh attacks on Iran, hours after US President Donald Trump declared that the interim Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at ending the conflict with Tehran was “over”.
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US says strikes target Iran’s capability in Strait of Hormuz
The US military said the strikes were intended to degrade Iran’s ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, a key global shipping route.
The attacks followed heightened tensions after Iranian officials reportedly warned they would retaliate against any renewed assault on Tehran. The warning came after Trump, speaking during a press briefing in Ankara on Wednesday, said the United States would “probably hit Iran tonight”.
Shipping disruption in Strait of Hormuz
Amid the escalating conflict, an Indian oil tanker was turned back from the Omani coast in the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera reported, citing Iran’s Fars news agency.
Separately, Oman and the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization (IMO) announced a temporary shipping corridor along the Omani coast of the Strait of Hormuz to facilitate the evacuation of vessels stranded in the Gulf.
Trump declares Iran MoU ‘over’
Speaking on the sidelines of the two-day NATO summit in Ankara on Wednesday, Trump said the Memorandum of Understanding signed with Iran to halt the fighting between Washington and Tehran was “over”. He also criticised the Iranian leadership, describing them as “sick people”, signalling a sharp deterioration in diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.
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