An Iranian strike hit an oil vessel belonging to the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, according to officials in the United Arab Emirates, marking the latest escalation in the strategic waterway.
The strike damaged the vessel’s hull, though no injuries were reported. The United Arab Emirates’ foreign ministry condemned what it termed a “hostile Iranian attack that targeted a vessel affiliated with ADNOC.”
The incident followed accusations by the UAE on Friday that Iranian forces had targeted two other ADNOC-linked ships traversing the passage. Tehran has maintained a blockade on commercial shipping through the strait, demanding toll fees for transit that the United States rejects.
Regional tensions also intensified along the Lebanese border on Saturday, when Lebanon’s Health Ministry and state media reported that two Israeli airstrikes killed nine people.
The attacks represent some of the heaviest casualties recorded since a fragile truce was established between Israel and Hezbollah. While the Israeli military stated it targeted Hezbollah infrastructure, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam disputed that claim regarding an attack on the village of Ansar.
“The seven martyrs of the Israeli strike on the village of Ansar are not ‘military infrastructure’ and the women and children who were killed are not military targets,” Salam said, warning that “Israel must halt this escalation” because it “undermines efforts to consolidate stability in the south.”
The strikes follow sharp exchanges between Washington and Tehran. During a rally with law enforcement officers in Long Island on Friday, President Donald Trump reiterated his defense of the war despite domestic gas price increases and outlined plans for the waterway.
“After we finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated, pretty soon, I’ll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States,” Trump said.
Iranian officials rejected the statement on Saturday. Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the head of Iran’s judiciary, told the semi-official Tasnim news agency that “the ravings and falsehoods of the criminal president of the United States regarding the Strait of Hormuz stem from the delusions of this feeble-minded individual,” adding that “in reality, the owner and ruler of this important global waterway is the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei also criticized the remarks on social media, citing Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov on the hazards of self-deception in foreign policy.
Separately, Iranian armed forces Gen. Mohammad Bagherzadeh sent a formal letter to the International Committee of the Red Cross requesting the release of three Iranian pilots who crashed in Qatar six months ago. Bagherzadeh identified the detained pilots as Javad Salehi, Abdolmajid Dashtian, and Omran Behraveshian, stating they were captured after their Su-24 jets went down and have been held without family contact.
U.S. naval operations remain active across the region. On Friday, Trump dismissed concerns regarding crew conditions aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which is nearing the end of a nine-month deployment and is scheduled for relief by the USS George Washington.
READ: Trump Tells New York Crowd He Will ‘Never Apologize’ For Fuel Costs Amid Iran Conflict
Please make a small donation to the Tampa Free Press to help sustain independent journalism. Your contribution enables us to continue delivering high-quality, local, and national news coverage.
Sign up: Subscribe to our free newsletter for a curated selection of top stories delivered straight to your inbox.
