Dubai, UAE — Iran’s deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Saturday that his country had suspended its commitments to the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Washington signed last month because US attacks have not stopped.
“The US has violated and suspended all its commitments within the framework of the Islamabad MoU,” Gharibabadi said.
The minister added that Tehran had suspended its commitments under the agreement as it is “busy defending the country”.
Earlier, Tehran has warned that it will launch a full-scale offensive if the US strikes continued over the next few days.
According to the state broadcaster, IRIB, Major General Mohsen Rezaee, a senior Iranian military adviser, said, “Iran will no longer limit itself to retaliatory, like-for-like responses … and no political border will be safe.”
Rezaee also said that the “policy of negotiating during war is over”.
His warning came after the United States launched a seventh consecutive night of strikes on Iran, killing three people in the southern province of Hormozgan, while Tehran attacked US military targets in Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain.
“The deputy political, security and social affairs governor of Hormozgan announced the martyrdom of three people and the injury of eight people following enemy attacks on some parts of Hormozgan province this morning,” IRNA said on Telegram.
Iran broadens retaliation
Iran’s army said it struck US military targets at Camp Arifjan and Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, fuel tanks at Jordan’s Al Azraq Air Base and a US base in Bahrain in response to American attacks.
Kuwait’s military said explosions heard across the country were caused by air defence systems intercepting hostile targets. Earlier, Kuwait said an Iranian attack had damaged a power and water plant and wounded seven military personnel in a drone strike.
Jordan’s army said it intercepted 10 Iranian missiles, reporting no casualties or damage.
Bahrain, home to the US Fifth Fleet, sounded air raid sirens after reporting incoming missiles.
War crimes
Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi said Iran’s attacks on Gulf countries “constitute a highly dangerous escalation, a grave violation of international law and the United Nations (UN) Charter, as well as war crimes requiring international accountability and prosecution, given the deliberate targeting of infrastructure and civilian facilities”.
Seventh night of US strikes
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said US forces targeted Iranian surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage facilities and maritime capabilities during overnight operations.
CENTCOM said fighter aircraft, drones, warships and other military assets took part in the strikes, adding that more than 50,000 US personnel remained deployed across the Middle East.
Explosions were reported in the central city of Yazd and several southern provinces, according to Iranian state media.
Two oil tankers struck
The latest escalation came as Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed two oil tankers had struck mines in the Strait of Hormuz and that it had stopped four vessels attempting to transit the waterway.
CENTCOM denied the tanker claim, saying: “Like most IRGC claims, this is false.”
The IRGC has also declared the Strait of Hormuz “fully sealed off”, saying no shipments of oil, gas or chemical fertiliser would be allowed to leave the region until US attacks cease, although commercial vessels continue to transit the strategic waterway.
