The US military accused Iran yesterday of carrying out attacks on civilian infrastructure, residential areas and commercial shipping in the Gulf, saying more than 20 people had been killed in recent months.
US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees American military operations in the Middle East, said Iranian attacks had targeted civilian facilities in Gulf countries and deliberately struck civilian mariners at sea.
In a post on X, CENTCOM rejected statements by Iran’s foreign minister denying that Tehran had targeted civilians in neighbouring countries, calling the claims false.
The command condemned what it described as Iran’s indiscriminate aggression, saying the attacks could not be justified.
The allegations follow a separate dispute over maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for global energy supplies.
Last Thursday, CENTCOM dismissed Iranian claims that commercial vessels had struck naval mines while transiting the strait.
The command said the main shipping lanes remained free of mines and that thousands of commercial vessels had passed through safely.
• Contacts between Iran and the United States to end their eight-month war are continuing, Tehran said yesterday, after days of Iranian talks with Qatari mediators ended with altered proposals but no breakthrough.
“Consultations through mediators are very intensive. We have presented our conditions and proposals and everything depends on the political rationality of Washington,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in comments carried by state media outlet IRNA.
Amid fears the conflict could reignite after today’s midterm elections in the United States, China and Russia both spoke out yesterday against the possibility of renewed military action in a war that has hit the global economy.
While oil prices fell nearly four per cent yesterday on hopes that the latest round of mediation could lead to a diplomatic solution to the crisis, Iranian sources said they believed a new US attack was still more likely than a deal.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the plan Iran had submitted in September to end the war remained the focus of discussions, but he confirmed comments attributed to Araqchi on Saturday that the proposal could be shortened.
“The basis of dialogue and talks between Iran and the US via mediators is still Iran’s seven-step proposal, which is now condensed, making it possible to implement it within two days,” he said.
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