by Larry C. Johnson, Sonar21:
Iran’s announcement declaring the MoU dead was quickly followed by a definitive change in Iran’s military tactics. On Tuesday, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Kazem Gharibabadi:
‘The U.S. has not merely ‘violated’ the Memorandum of Understanding. With tonight’s action (naval blockade) the MoU has been completely dismantled.
Iran is no longer bound by the MoU.
Until today Iran scrupulously adhered to the MoU… It did not attack US targets until it was first attacked. In other words, Iran responded to US attacks. In addition, Hezbollah — an ally of Iran — in accordance with the first paragraph of the MoU stopped attacking Israel. Now that the MoU is no longer considered in effect I anticipated that we will see a surge in Hezbollah attacks against Israeli positions in southern Lebanon.
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Iran, for its part, did not wait for the US to strike on Tuesday. Instead it launched attacks against US targets in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan. Two Emirati tankers, Mombasa and Al Bahiyah, were struck by two Iranian cruise missiles in the strait’s southern lane, inside Omani territorial waters . Per the UAE Defense Ministry: one crew member killed (an Indian national, aboard the Mombasa), eight wounded with four serious — six Indians and two Ukrainians. Fires broke out on both vessels and were brought under control; both sustained material damage.
The IRGC had already declared the strait closed “until further notice” early Sunday July 12, warning no vessel would be permitted to transit. It labeled the two “violators,” alleging they had turned off their navigation systems, ignored warnings from the “Strait of Hormuz Security Control Center,” and deviated from the designated route. It further claimed the US military had tried to provoke vessels into an “illegal route,” and that the tankers were disabled after “choosing to transit through a mined path” — warning that using routes not designated by the Guard would produce “nothing but regret,” delays in reopening the strait, and a global energy crisis.
Iran attacked four main targets:
Bahrain (Fifth Fleet HQ) — missile-alert sirens sounded early Tuesday. Nabeel Alhamer, media adviser to the King, said Bahraini air defenses intercepted and destroyed Iranian aerial attacks. But video footage tells a different story. The IRGC destroyed the Patriot radar, the Fifth Fleet’s air-control radar, and the C-RAM early-warning radar, plus a satellite communications center and weapons-support warehouses at Juffair. No confirmed casualties reported.
Kuwait — Iranian state TV said the army struck US facilities and equipment with drones. In this fourth wave of Operation Nasr, Iran targeted and completely destroyed a warehouse belonging to the Kuwait and Gulf Link Holding Company (KGL) in Mina Abdullah, Kuwait using two drones. KGL is the main U.S. Army support center in West Asia.
Jordan — the IRGC confirmed via Fars that it targeted a US air base with ballistic missiles Tuesday, and called on Jordanians to dismantle American bases in their country. Jordan claimed it intercepted four Iranian missiles, but video footage shows at least four missile impacts on the ground.
