The United Arab Emirates said it was attacked by Iranian missiles and drones on Tuesday, while Washington said the shaky ceasefire was intact despite firing the previous day as US forces attempted to force open the Strait of Hormuz.
The US military said it destroyed six Iranian small boats, as well as cruise missiles and drones, after President Donald Trump sent the Navy to rescue tankers stuck in the strait in an operation dubbed “Project Freedom.”
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the operation to protect commercial ships was temporary and that the four-week-old ceasefire had not ended. “We are not expecting a fight,” he told a news conference. “At the moment the ceasefire certainly holds, but we are monitoring very closely.”
Iran fired missiles at US ships on Monday and attacked the United Arab Emirates, a key regional ally of Washington, with missiles and drones.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned ships on Tuesday to stick to its designated corridors or face a “decisive response”, after releasing a new map of the Strait of Hormuz with expanded Iranian control zone.
Trump said Iran’s military was limited to shooting “peashooters” and that Tehran wanted peace despite the public uproar. “They play games, but let me tell you, they want to make a deal,” he told reporters in the Oval Office.
Shortly after Hegseth spoke on Tuesday, the UAE’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses were again dealing with missile and drone attacks coming from Iran. – Reuters
