BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 16. The number of ships
redirected by the US military since the start of the blockade of
Iran has reached 78, the US Central Command said in a statement on
its X page, Trend
reports.
"78 commercial ships have been redirected, and 4 have been
disabled to ensure compliance," the statement said.
On February 28, the U.S. and Israel launched military operations
against Iran. Strikes were carried out against the country’s
largest cities, including Tehran. The White House justified the
attack by citing missile and nuclear threats emanating from the
Islamic Republic. As a result of the strikes on Iran, the country’s
Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and several other key
figures in the leadership were killed. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps announced a large-scale retaliatory operation against
Israel. Iran also targeted U.S. facilities in Bahrain, Jordan,
Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Syria with
ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones.
The conflict has placed the region’s energy infrastructure and
maritime shipping under serious threat. Due to security tensions in
the Strait of Hormuz, global oil prices have surged.
Through Pakistan’s mediation, a two-week ceasefire agreement was
reached between the sides on April 7. The U.S.–Iran talks held in
Islamabad on April 11 ended without reaching an agreement.
