The China Mail - UAE slams 'dangerous escalation' after fresh attacks blamed on Iran

After US warships entered the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, President Donald Trump said Iran had "taken some shots" but caused no harm apart from damage to a South Korean vessel.

He added that US forces had "shot down" seven small Iranian military boats. A US admiral earlier said six such vessels were destroyed, but Tehran denied any had been sunk.

"The US claim that it sank a number of Iranian war boats is false," a senior Iranian military official was quoted as saying by state television.

An Israeli military official said the army remained on high alert and was monitoring the situation.

Earlier, Trump had announced a plan to guide ships from neutral countries out of the Gulf, saying it was a humanitarian effort to help their stranded crews.

Negotiations between Washington and Tehran have been deadlocked since a ceasefire in the US-Israeli war against Iran took effect on April 8, with Tehran's stranglehold on the strait a main point of contention.

But that truce was threatened Monday as fresh strikes hit the Gulf region, which has borne the brunt of Iran's attacks in response to US-Israeli strikes that sparked the Middle East war.

Two people were injured when a residential building was targeted in Oman's Bukha along the coastline of the Strait of Hormuz, state media reported.

- UAE attacks -

Meanwhile authorities in the UAE said a strike targeting an energy installation in the emirate of Fujairah injured three Indian nationals.

The UAE said an Iranian barrage had targeted the country, calling the attack a "dangerous escalation" and saying it reserved the right to respond.

It also ordered all schools to return to remote learning for the rest of the week.

"Four cruise missiles launched from Iran were detected toward various areas across the country. Three were successfully engaged over the country's territorial waters, while one fell in the sea," the defence ministry said.

A senior Iranian military official however said "the Islamic Republic had no pre-planned programme to attack the oil facilities in question, and what happened was the product of the US military's adventurism to create a passage for ships to illegally pass through... the Strait of Hormuz".

"The US military must be held accountable for it," the official added, according to state television.

Oil prices jumped on Monday following the latest developments, piling economic pressure on countries around the world including the United States.

The attacks came a day after Trump had announced the "Project Freedom" maritime operation to help trapped commercial vessels leave the Strait of Hormuz.

On Monday afternoon, CENTCOM said "guided-missile destroyers are currently operating" in the Gulf, having transited Hormuz.

The Iranian navy had "issued a warning shot by firing cruise missiles, rockets, and combat drones around the aggressor enemy vessels" in Hormuz, state television said.

CENTCOM added that, as "a first step" in Project Freedom, two "US-flagged merchant vessels" had travelled out of the Gulf.

But Iran's Revolutionary Guards denied the US statement, saying: "No commercial vessels or oil tankers have passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the past few hours."

Seoul said on Monday that an "explosion and fire" had struck a South Korean ship in the strait.

- 'Excessive demands' -

As of April 29, more than 900 commercial vessels were located in the Gulf, according to maritime intelligence firm AXSMarine.

On Monday, the UAE said Iran had fired drones at a tanker affiliated with its state-owned oil giant ADNOC.

By blocking the strait, Iran has choked off major flows of oil, gas and fertiliser to the world economy, while the United States has imposed a counter-blockade on Iranian ports.

Trump said earlier he was "fully aware that my Representatives are having very positive discussions with the Country of Iran, and that these discussions could lead to something very positive for all".

But he made no direct mention of a 14-point plan that Tehran said it put forward last week to end the war.

Speaking on Monday, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Iran's "priority is to end the war" but blamed the US for a lack of progress.

"The other side must commit to a reasonable approach and abandon its excessive demands," he said.

He said earlier that Washington had responded to the 14-point plan in a message to Pakistani mediators.

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R.Yeung--ThChM