Day 174 | Iran warns Gulf countries against helping US after UAE cuts trade ties
Iran's armed forces warned Gulf countries against assisting the US military on Wednesday, hours after the United Arab Emirates announced it was severing economic ties with Tehran following new attacks on shipping.
The Gulf is dotted with US military installations, including in the UAE, which said on Tuesday that Iran had fired two ballistic missiles at vessels off its coast.
Despite a recent lull in hostilities between the United States and Iran, the Strait of Hormuz -- which Tehran has blockaded -- remains a flashpoint, and attacks on commercial ships have continued.
A framework US-Iran deal aimed at reopening the vital trade corridor collapsed, and although both sides recently said messages were being exchanged, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday insisted talks were off, taunting Iran with a social media post depicting the strait as a "NEW U.S. Territory".
Iranian armed forces chief of staff Ali Abdollahi, according to the Mehr news agency, warned "any assistance or facilitation provided to the aggressor US military amounts to participation in the US military operation".
The conflict broke out on February 28 with US-‘Israeli’ attacks on the Islamic republic, which retaliated with missile and drone strikes across the region.
Since the start of the war, many Middle Eastern countries have said they would not allow the United States to use their territory as a launchpad for attacks, though Abdollahi cast doubt on those promises.
"It seems unlikely that such a large number of military aircraft, particularly refuelling aircraft, could be present at regional bases without knowledge of host countries," said Abdollahi, adding Gulf countries "should know that we are fully aware of the situation".
US created stealth corridor through Hormuz to transport oil, claims report
The US military has established a discreet shipping corridor through the Strait of Hormuz, enabling the nightly transit of 15–20 oil tankers and the export of roughly 10 million barrels of oil per day—about half the pre-war volume—according to a report by Axios citing two US officials.
The operation, underway for several weeks, routes vessels through a southern channel hugging the coast of Oman.
Empty tankers enter the Gulf from the Arabian Sea, load oil at regional ports, and exit under U.S. military guidance, while loaded ships move outbound in coordinated groups during designated nighttime windows.
“We have been controlling the southern lane of the Strait of Hormuz for two months now. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps can be a nuisance, but they don’t control the strait. We do,” one US official with direct knowledge of the operation reportedly told Axios.
The effort is overseen by a task force based at Army headquarters in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, which coordinates daily ship lists with Gulf partners and schedules separate inbound and outbound convoys.
US Central Command’s recent two-week campaign degrading Iran’s radar and maritime surveillance systems made the corridor viable.
Iranian monitoring is now limited to a handful of reconstituted radars and “spotters” in small IRGC fast boats, leaving Tehran largely “blind” to southern-channel traffic and prompting imprecise drone and cruise-missile launches.
US Air Force fighters provide protection; earlier this week forces downed eight Iranian drones and two cruise missiles.
Donald Trump confirmed the scale of the flows, telling Axios: “There is a tremendous amount of oil coming out of the Strait of Hormuz.”
He added that the US is not currently negotiating with Iran, stating, “They are wasting time. It’s a waste of time to negotiate with them,” and describing Iran as “a shell of themselves” despite retaining some residual fighting capacity.
Average daily exports have climbed toward 10 million barrels, with some recent nights seeing 15–20 million barrels moved.
On one night this week, more than 20 ships were scheduled, potentially carrying about 15 million barrels.
Analysts and earlier reporting note that US forces have assisted more than 1,000 ship transits since the war began, with vessels often sailing “dark”—transponders off—to reduce detection risk.
Trump vows economic punishment on countries helping Iran
US President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was launching a major new campaign to target Iran's economy, threatening "tremendous" punishment on any country that helps or does business with the Islamic republic.
"Today, I am announcing the MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY! This will be Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
"I am also announcing that ANY country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide any type of lifeline to Iran will itself face TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences," he said.
Trump announces “crushing operation” to isolate Iran economically
US President Donald Trump announced Thursday what he called the “most crushing economic operation ever taken” against Iran, after several weeks of talks with Tehran failed to yield any results.
“Today, I am announcing the MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY! This will be Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale,” Trump said on Truth social.
“I am also announcing that ANY country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide any type of lifeline to Iran will itself face TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences,” he added,
Trump also called the operation “economic D-Day”.
VIDEO - Netanyahu says ‘Israel’ will not tolerate Turkish military presence in South Syria
‘Israeli’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a warning against Turkey's alleged military expansion in Syria, confirming that ‘Israel’ was behind a series of airstrikes targeting the Abu al-Duhur airbase near Aleppo.
The targeted strikes, eight in total, came shortly after a Turkish military delegation inspected the facility for potential rehabilitation work.
Previous day
For coverage of the previous day, visit the link below.
Read more: Day 173 | UAE accuses Iran of firing ballistic missiles at shipping
