Iran Declares closure Of Strait Of Hormuz After Fresh US military strikes

In West Asia, a massive escalation is taking place today with the United States once again targeting Iranian infrastructure with a night of 'self-defence' military operations. The strikes, according to US Central Command, successfully damaged radar, air defence, and surveillance facilities in southern Iran, including monitoring stations near Qeshm Island and Bandar Abbas.

Iran's military announced the closure of the strategic Strait of Hormuz to all commercial traffic, threatening to attack any ship trying to pass through the vital waterway, in a quick and aggressive counter-strike. The U.S. has dismissed Tehran's assertion of a successful blockade, saying no U.S. Navy ships have been hit and that commercial maritime traffic remains unimpeded, yet the problems have already reverberated through global energy markets, sending crude oil prices soaring amid concerns about possible extended supply-chain disruptions.

The war is quickly spreading outside Iran's borders. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has taken credit for a series of strikes with drones and missiles launched at U.S. military bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan. The launch of 12 ballistic missiles at Jordan's Muwaffaq Salti Air Base was hyped up by Iranian state media, who reported substantial damage to aircraft shelters.

The region reported immediate consequences from those specific damage reports, with the Kuwait airspace being temporarily closed because of intrusions by drones, minor damage to residences and injuries from drone debris in Bahrain, and an emergency shelter-in-place advisory issued by the US Embassy in Jordan for American citizens. International observers say the fragile situation is rapidly descending into an unpredictable war in the region involving several fronts, with both sides of the border reporting Israeli airstrikes in their respective areas in the Bekaa Valley.