WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - In one of the most serious violations of the ceasefire, Iran launched missiles at Kuwait and Bahrain and the United States conducted fresh attacks on Qeshm Island, calling it 'self-defense strikes.'
A series of exchange of fire Tuesday night was apparently triggered by the US military using a Hellfire missile to hit an unladen oil tanker sailing toward an Iranian port on Kharg Island on the Arabian Gulf.
U.S. Central Command said it attacked Botswana-flagged M/T Lexie to 'enforce blockade measures.'
The ship's crew ignored repeated warnings, failing to comply with directions from U.S. forces multiple times over a 24-hour period, CENTCOM said in a press release.
A U.S. aircraft disabled the vessel by firing a Hellfire missile into the ship's engine room, preventing the tanker from reaching Iran.
CENTCOM began implementing the blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports on April 13. U.S. forces have disabled six commercial vessels and redirected 122, according to it.
Iran said it retaliated by firing missiles at a Liberian-flagged ship.
U.S. forces successfully defeated multiple Iranian ballistic missiles and drones, and conducted self-defense strikes on Qeshm Island in response to attempted attacks by Iran across the Middle East Tuesday, CENTCOM said in a separate press release.
Iran said it launched missiles and drones targeting 'an American air and helicopter base' in a 'regional country,' and the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain.
Iran launched several ballistic missiles toward regional neighbors; however, all failed to hit their intended targets, according to CENTCOM. Two Iranian missiles fired at Kuwait fell short or broke apart enroute, and three missiles launched at Bahrain were immediately intercepted by U.S. and Bahrain air defense forces.
U.S. Central Command said its forces shot down three one-way attack drones launched by Iran toward civilian mariners that were rightfully transiting regional waters. American forces also conducted self-defense strikes on an Iranian military ground control station on Qeshm Island.
No U.S. personnel were harmed in the operation, it added.
Kuwait News Agency reported, quoting the defense ministry, that the Kuwait international airport's Terminal 1 was damaged and a number of people were injured as Iranian missiles and drones hit it in the early hours of Wednesday.
The attacks prompted Kuwaiti authorities to suspend flights and air traffic in the country.
As the Middle East war escalates, crude oil prices continue to increase in the global market, and it went up by 3 percent on Wednesday.
Brent crude oil climbed above $98 per barrel on Wednesday, while the US-traded WTI crossed $96 per barrel, marking a third consecutive session of gains.
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