The shape-shifting conflict in the Middle East saw Iran openly go on the offensive for the first time since the war in Gaza began, as Tehran’s latest round of existential brinkmanship with Israel spread further from the tiny Mediterranean enclave.
The show of force broke with the stealth that’s come to define Iran’s role in the conflict so far, after allies like the Houthis in Yemen and Lebanon’s Hezbollah led the military campaign in support of Gaza. It was a message from an emboldened Iran that relegated its proxies to the sidelines, signaling an appetite to replace an unstable status quo by taking the fight where it saw fit.
New flashpoints lit up almost daily. First Iran seized an oil tanker off the coast of Oman in what it said was a retaliation for the US’s “theft” of its crude from the same ship last year.
Then it launched missile strikes on an alleged Israeli spy base in northern Iraq and ISIS in Syria, signaling that Tehran was willing to use force to push back what it saw as Israeli influence, and creating an opportunity to show off new high-tech missiles that could in theory reach Tel Aviv.
Next came a further strike — this time on Pakistan to the east — targeting another militant group that Tehran says organizes attacks from the porous border region. Though Pakistan launched reciprocal strikes the following day, both sides moved quickly to de-escalate by affirming their “brotherly” relations.
A day later, Iran announced air and naval drills around the Persian Gulf coast, saying they will “create deterrence” around sensitive facilities like refineries, ports and nuclear power plants.
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For those interested in the saga about the oil tanker:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez_Rajan
In April 2023 the Greek-managed Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker Suez Rajan was seized by US authorities, for breaching US sanctions against Iranian oil, which fell under US jurisdiction due to the use of US financial services. The US then confiscated and sold the carried Iranian oil.
In January 2024, while the ship (since renamed St Nikolas) was carrying oil from Iraq to Turkey through the Gulf of Oman, Iranian soldiers boarded and seized the ship in accordance with an Iranian court order.
Here’s the Reuters article about the issue: https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/uk-shipping-authority-receives-report-vessel-boarded-by-armed-persons-off-oman-2024-01-11/
The White House condemned the seizure.
“No justification whatsoever to seize it, none whatsoever. They need to let it go,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said.
This is the part that gets me. It’s absolutely wild that the US can say this with a straight face when they did the exact same thing less than a year ago.
They already “emerged” from the shadows and showed their true cowardly face when they support the russians invading Ukraine. Together with Russia and North Korea they form the new axis of evil, with China still undecided what to do.
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