The western section of the Indian Ocean, with its key trade routes and its maritime chokepoints, has faced no shortage of crises between disruptions caused by the Houthis in Yemen and their backers in...
Iran Attacks U.S. Vessels: U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed on May 7 that “U.S. forces intercepted unprovoked Iranian attacks and responded with self-defense strikes as U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers transited the Strait of Hormuz to the Gulf of Oman.” The statement noted that “Iranian forces launched multiple missiles, drones and small boats as USS Truxtun (DDG 103), USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115), and USS Mason (DDG 87) transited the international sea passage. No U.S. assets were struck.” CENTCOM added that it had “eliminated inbound threats and targeted Iranian military facilities responsible for attacking U.S. forces including missile and drone launch sites; command and control locations; and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance nodes.”
Suspect Had File in Counterterrorism Program in 2020: London’s Metropolitan Police said that Essa Suleiman, the suspect who executed a terrorist attack in the heavily Jewish London neighborhood of Golders Green on April 29, was previously referred to the United Kingdom’s “Prevent” program, which “aims to stop individuals becoming terrorists,” according to the program’s website. “We can confirm the suspect … was subject to a Prevent referral in 2020, which was closed in the same year,” counterterrorism police said. Suleiman stabbed two Jewish men before being subdued by police and volunteers from a Jewish communal security group.
Vessel Interdicted: The U.S. Department of Defense announced on April 23 that “overnight, U.S. forces carried out a maritime interdiction and right-of-visit boarding of the sanctioned...
Perspectives from Across the Pond
Blockade in Effect After Announcement: The United States began its targeted blockade of the Strait of Hormuz on April 13. President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. Navy to begin blocking...
Defense Secretary Says UK Tracked Russian Subs: UK Defense Secretary John Healey revealed on April 9 that the British armed forces, in cooperation with Norway and other allied nations, had tracked three Russian submarines off the British coast for over a month. Healey said that the purpose of the operation was to gather information about underwater infrastructure, including cables and pipelines. “Our armed forces left them in no doubt that they were being monitored, that their movements were not covert, as [Russian President Vladimir] Putin planned,” Healey said.
UK Hosts Meeting of 41 Countries on Hormuz: The United Kingdom convened a virtual meeting of 41 countries on April 2 on proposed coalition efforts to manage the flow of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that plans to secure the strait would be implemented only after a ceasefire between the United States, Israel and Iran. “We have seen Iran hijack an international shipping route to hold the global economy hostage,” UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said.
After a month on the sidelines, the Houthis have entered the war between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States and Israel on the side of their sponsors in Tehran. On March 28, the Yemeni...
Latest Developments Houthis Join War: The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen launched a ballistic missile targeting the southern Israeli city of Beersheva on March 28, its first entry into the current conflict....
2 Chinese-Flagged Vessels Turned Back: Iran blocked two Chinese-flagged container vessels from transiting the Strait of Hormuz on March 27, according to the MarineTraffic tracking...
Navy Commander Killed: Israel said on March 26 that it had eliminated Alireza Tangsiri, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy, in the port city of Bandar...
Tehran’s Envoy Declared ‘Persona Non Grata’: Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi said on March 24 that he had “instructed today the Secretary-General of the Ministry...
As thousands of drones and missiles fly through the skies of the Middle East targeting the United States and its allies, one group’s weapons are notably absent — the Islamic Republic of Iran’s...
Israel Targets Tehran Regime’s Repression Force: Israel escalated its strikes against members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Basij paramilitary force in Iran on March...
The Middle East is once again in flames, with Iranian proxies active across the region and Tehran attacking British bases and allies. Yet at this very same moment, Foreign Office staff attended a party...
3 Vessels Struck Off Iranian Coast: “Unknown” projectiles struck three ships near the Strait of Hormuz on March 11, United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported. According to Reuters, the Thai-flagged Mayuree Naree, the Japan-flagged ONE Majesty, and the Marshall Islands-flagged Star Gwyneth sustained damage. Mayuree Naree’s operator, Precious Shipping, stated, “Three crew members are reported missing.” Iranians Threaten Strait: Iranian security chief Ali Larijani threatened that the “Strait of Hormuz will either be a strait of peace and prosperity for all or will be a strait of defeat and suffering for warmongers.” On March 11, Iran’s unified military command center spokesman warned, “We will never allow even a single liter of oil to pass through the Strait of Hormuz for the benefit of America, the Zionists or their partners.” Trump Threatens Harder Strikes if Iran Mines Strait of Hormuz: President Donald Trump said on March 10 that “if Iran has put out any mines in the Hormuz Strait … we want them removed, IMMEDIATELY! If for any reason mines were placed, and they are not removed forthwith, the Military consequences to Iran will be at a level never seen before.” U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) later stated that “U.S. forces eliminated multiple Iranian naval vessels, March 10, including 16 minelayers near the Strait of Hormuz.”
Iranians Urged To Pledge Allegiance to New Leader: Mojtaba Khamenei, the 56-year-old son of eliminated Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been appointed to replace his father. Iran’s Assembly of Experts released a statement calling on Iranians to “keep unity and pledge allegiance to the new supreme leader.” Trump Says ‘He’s Not Going To Last Long’: President Donald Trump said that Iran is “going to have to get approval from us” regarding the appointment of its next leader. “If he doesn’t get approval from us, he’s not going to last long. We want to make sure that we don’t have to go back every 10 years, when you don’t have a president like me that’s not going to do it,” Trump stated. More Hardline Than His Father: “Mojtaba is expected to be more hardline than his father, and his ascent means the Iranian regime may get more repressive,” Axios observed. The younger Khamenei was sanctioned by the United States in 2019 for having “acted for or on behalf of” his father.
Air strikes, likely conducted as part of American-Israeli operations, are hitting Iran-backed Shiite militias in Iraq, but no one is taking credit. The militias themselves claim to have launched dozens...
Trump Emphasizes ‘No Deal’ With Regime: President Donald Trump said on March 6 that the United States would make “no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER.” Trump...