Bangla Press Desk: Iran has halted oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz after Israel attacked Lebanon killing nearly 90 people, despite the Tehran-backed Lebanese armed group, Hezbollah, pledging to halt attacks, Iran’s semi-official news agency Fars reported.
Fars said two oil tankers were allowed to cross the strait since the ceasefire came into effect early Wednesday, but noted that interruptions to transit followed Israeli attacks. Iran also struck an oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia, and several other sites across the Gulf.Pakistan, which brokered the ceasefire on Wednesday, said the Israeli attacks on Lebanon amounted to violations, despite Israel claiming Lebanon was not part of the 11th-hour deal.
A security source told Al Jazeera that Iran is considering a punishment for Israel over these cases of breaching the ceasefire in Lebanon.
Earlier, there were also reports of Iran downing an Israeli drone in Fars province.
The Tasnim news said, quoting a security source, that Iran could be considering a potential withdrawal from the ceasefire agreement in the case of a continued campaign of strikes by Israel.
“Iran is in the process of working on its response to carry out deterrent operations against Israeli military positions in the occupied territories,” an unidentified security source told Fars News Agency, an outlet affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The source said the continuation of attacks indicates that either the “US cannot control” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or that it “has granted freedom of action to the Zionist regime.”
Another source speaking to the state-affiliated Tasnim news agency said Iran’s armed forces are “identifying targets” to respond to Israel’s attacks on Lebanon on Wednesday, threatening to withdraw from the ceasefire agreement if they continued.
“If the US cannot control its watchdog in the region, Iran will exceptionally assist it in this matter! And that, by force.”
US President Donald Trump described continued Israeli strikes on Lebanon as a “separate skirmish” with Hezbollah that was “not included” in the two-week ceasefire deal.
“Because of Hezbollah. They were not included in the deal. That’ll get taken care of too. It’s alright,” Trump told PBS News Hour in a phone call.
A senior White House official told CNN that Israel agreed to suspend its bombing campaign as negotiations continue, but Trump appeared to accept that Israel would continue striking Lebanon in the meantime.
The Strait of Hormuz appeared to remain largely blocked on Wednesday, as shipowners tried to understand if they can safely transit the vital waterway following a ceasefire between the US and Iran that was announced overnight.
A total of seven ships were seen exiting the region since Tuesday morning, while three vessels entered, tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show. Total peace time transits stood at about 135 a day last year. More than 800 freighters are stuck inside the gulf, mostly waiting to leave.
