Latest war news. Trump halts escalation to avoid running out of Patriot missiles. Iran: anyone who helps the US is a legitimate target

“The US naval blockade against Iran remains fully in force. As of yesterday, Centcom had diverted 12 commercial vessels attempting to breach it, detaining two that had failed to respond to warnings and boarding two vessels to ensure full compliance with instructions.” This is according to a statement published on X by the US Central Command, which specified that yesterday US forces “completed an on-board inspection of a vessel flying the Comoros flag in the Arabian Sea, and the oil tanker is now continuing its journey”. On Friday, however, Centcom forces stopped a ‘vessel flying the Mozambican flag in the Gulf of Oman, after the crew had repeatedly attempted to breach the blockade and ignored repeated warnings. The vessel is no longer en route to Iran. US forces – the post concludes – remain on high alert, focused, lethal and ready.”

Iran has accused Ukraine of attacking one of its merchant ships on Saturday in the Caspian Sea, killing one sailor and injuring another, according to the official Irna news agency. According to the source, which cites the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Saturday morning’s attack caused an explosion on board the vessel. “The attack carried out by the Ukrainian regime against an Iranian merchant ship in the Caspian Sea, explicitly claimed by the head of that regime, demonstrates the Ukrainian regime’s persistent irrational and hostile attitude’ towards Iran, the Ministry protested, as reported by IRNA. The Islamic Republic “has never intervened in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine”, it stated.

“The Iranian and Omani deputy foreign ministers met in Tehran on Friday and Saturday to discuss the management of the Strait of Hormuz. ‘The talks were constructive and led to progress,’ said the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghae, on Sunday. ‘At present, the traffic situation in the Strait of Hormuz remains unchanged.’ However, “during the talks in Tehran, the two sides exchanged views on common principles and operational mechanisms for the safe management of maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, whilst respecting the sovereign rights of the two coastal states. Iran and Oman are continuing their technical and political consultations,” added Baghaei, as quoted by the Iranian news agency Tasnim.

“Recently, US B-1 bombers have used British airfields to attack Iran. Any country – be it the United Kingdom, the Persian Gulf states or others – will be our legitimate target if it supports the United States in the war,” said the spokesman for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Mohebi, quoted by Tasnim, adding: “We have our own plan for every situation.” The Pasdaran also issued a warning to Israel: “The Israelis know what will happen to them if they return to war. We will focus on them. By provoking the US President and providing false information, Israel wants to keep the US in the region and promote its own objectives by exploiting American power.” Mohebi also stated that “over 200 American soldiers were killed” in the Iranian operation Nasr-2 and that the number of wounded is much higher than that announced by the United States.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claims that the United States has deliberately breached the Iran-US memorandum of understanding by opening an alternative shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz and diverting ships away from the corridors designated by Tehran. This has been reported by the Iranian media.

Abbas Aeagchi, ministro degli esteri dell’Iran, durante una riunione del consiglio dei ministri degli esteri dell’Organizzazione per la cooperazione di Shanghai (Sco)

Donald Trump has shelved, for the time being, plans for a ‘significant escalation’ of the military offensive against Iran, fearing that the Pentagon’s already depleted stocks of Patriot interceptors and ammunition for air defence in the Middle East might run out. The change of course, writes the New York Times, came during the President’s meeting on Friday with key advisers and members of the administration, according to two well-informed sources. General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned in private that, whilst possible, the fighting would ‘dangerously’ deplete the interceptors available to Centcom.