🚢 U.S. maritime enforcement operations around Iran continued as CENTCOM confirmed American forces disabled the Botswana-flagged oil tanker M/T Lexie after the vessel ignored repeated warnings while approaching Kharg Island. According to CENTCOM, a U.S. aircraft struck the ship’s engine room with a Hellfire missile following a 24-hour noncompliance period. The command stated that blockade measures around Iranian ports began on April 13, with six commercial vessels disabled and 122 redirected since the ceasefire took effect.
🎯 Reports indicated Iran targeted U.S. bases in Kuwait and Bahrain following American strikes on an IRGC communications tower and military ground-control station on Qeshm Island. CENTCOM said the American strikes were conducted in response to earlier Iranian attacks. No American casualties were reported.
✈️ Kuwait declared a state of emergency at Kuwait International Airport after Iranian drone and missile strikes caused casualties and major damage to airport infrastructure. Authorities suspended flight operations and diverted incoming traffic following the strike on Terminal 1, which reportedly killed one Indian national and wounded 63 others. Kuwaiti officials said the terminal sustained severe structural damage shortly after reopening.
🇮🇳 India condemned the airport strike and called for an end to attacks on civilian infrastructure. The victim killed in the attack was reported to be the 10th Indian national killed since the Iran war began.
🏛️ Kuwait responded diplomatically by summoning Iran’s chargé d'affaires, lodging a formal protest, reducing the size of Iran’s diplomatic mission, and declaring two Iranian diplomats persona non grata with orders to leave the country within 24 hours.
📹 The IRGC denied responsibility for the airport strike, claiming the damage was caused by a malfunctioning U.S. Patriot interceptor missile. Kuwait’s Civil Aviation Authority later released footage showing an Iranian drone strike on Terminal 1, contradicting the Iranian account. An Iranian military source subsequently told Tasnim News Agency that the footage was fabricated and did not match the intended Iranian targets.
🌐 The Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration pressured Oman to distance itself from Iran amid concerns Muscat could support Iranian shipping-fee initiatives in the Strait of Hormuz. Omani officials denied involvement in such plans.
⚠️ Bahrain introduced additional internal security measures, banning citizens from traveling to Iran and Iraq due to ongoing regional tensions. Bahraini authorities also announced the arrest of 15 individuals accused of operating as IRGC field operatives.
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