Iran Threatens Retaliation After Regional Attacks Amid Rising Tensions
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported a maritime incident approximately 120 kilometers south of Al-Mokha port in eastern Yemen. Armed individuals boarded a vessel en route eastward through the Gulf of Aden, destined for Bosaso, Somalia. Authorities are investigating the event to identify those responsible, with no group claiming responsibility yet, and it remains unclear if the Houthi rebels were involved. UKMTO urged all ships in the area to exercise heightened caution and report suspicious activities due to ongoing security threats in regional shipping lanes.
Amid escalating attacks attributed to Iran against American targets, Soar Atlas released satellite images showing damage to several U.S. bases in the Gulf region. The images reveal a hit on a U.S. Patriot air defense system at Erbil International Airport in Iraq and the complete destruction of three buildings at the Zayed military complex in Abu Dhabi. Reports indicate the damage focused on an air force base where Iranian forces attempted to breach multi-layered defenses. While most threats were intercepted, some missiles penetrated defenses causing limited damage to infrastructure and battery components.
Iran acknowledged for the first time that its energy infrastructure has been attacked and urged citizens to reduce electricity consumption. The Iranian Ministry of Energy called on residents in southern provinces to conserve energy amid a severe heatwave and ongoing attacks on energy facilities. Households were asked to turn off air conditioning for one hour during peak times to stabilize power supply, with temperatures in southern Iran expected to reach around 50 degrees Celsius this summer.
Following intensified U.S. strikes in Iran overnight, Iranian Parliament Foreign Affairs and Security Committee Chairman Ebrahim Azizi warned that Iranian forces will not ignore the killing of innocent people and will retaliate fiercely. Concurrently, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed destruction of U.S. naval and air control radars in Oman during attacks on Gulf states and reiterated that the Strait of Hormuz remains under Iranian naval control.
