Araghchi warns world against ‘incendiary precedent’ of asset seizure
The United States and Iran traded attacks Thursday night and Friday morning as President Donald Trump announced that damage inflicted by Iran on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz would be paid with U.S.-held Iranian assets, according to a statement from Trump and reporting from state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.
U.S. Central Command said its latest wave of attacks, completed at 9 p.m. EDT Thursday, lasted about two hours and 15 minutes. During that period, its forces struck Iranian military command centers, drone storage facilities, communications networks, coastal surveillance sites and maritime capabilities, Centcom said in a statement.
IRIB reported explosions early Friday local time across the country, with strikes in Ahvaz, Bandar Abbas, Omidiyeh, Qeshm and Andimeshk. Officials in Bandar Abbas reported that two people were injured. Explosions were also reported in southern Khorramabad.
The Iranian Army announced retaliatory drone strikes on U.S. bases in Jordan and Bahrain, according to its statement. Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior said sirens were sounding and urged residents to remain calm and seek shelter.
The exchange is part of ongoing U.S.-Iranian strikes. As MSI previously reported, the fighting resumed earlier this month over a dispute about what the June ceasefire memorandum of understanding meant for control of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran says the agreement recognizes its authority over Hormuz transit; Washington says Tehran committed to freedom of navigation.
Maritime traffic freely flowed through the strait until the United States and Israel attacked Iran in late February, according to UPI. Iran responded with its maritime blockade of the chokepoint, causing gas prices to spike. The Strait is a vital energy route.
Centcom said Thursday it was seeking to further degrade Iran’s ability to attack vessels transiting the strait. “The international waterway remains open for transit despite recent attacks from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” the statement said. “Commercial vessels continue to free navigate the strait with U.S. military support.”
Late Thursday, Trump announced online that damage ships incur while traveling the strait would be paid for with the hundreds of millions of dollars in Iranian assets frozen by U.S. sanctions. “These damages may be very substantial but, nevertheless, this is the fair and equitable thing to do,” he said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi responded online, warning that “seizing another nation’s assets to pay for unrelated future claims is an incendiary precedent.” He said “those who celebrate or profit from such funds should remember: once governments normalize confiscation, no one’s assets are safe,” adding that “ensuing chaos will not be pretty or peaceful.”