In one of the most dramatic escalations in the ongoing US-Iran confrontation, the United States launched attacks on military targets on Iran’s largest island near the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz on Sunday. The strikes came in retaliation for an Iranian attack on a container ship in the strait that set the vessel ablaze and left a crew member missing.
Iran responded by launching attacks on countries including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, and Oman — a significant widening of the conflict that threatens to engulf the broader Gulf region. The exchange marks a dangerous new chapter in tensions over one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes, through which roughly a fifth of global oil supplies pass.
