TEHRAN, Aug 19 — 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 and through which vessels departing most UAE ports must pass – 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 warned on Wednesday “that any assistance or facilitation provided to the aggressor US military amounts to participation in the US military operation”, according to the Mehr news agency.
The war between Iran and the United States 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 conflict, 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”.
Media reports have suggested that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain have all hit targets in Iran in retaliation for Tehran’s attacks on the Gulf, though the countries have mostly denied the reports.
‘Halted until further notice’
On Tuesday, the UAE announced that it was suspending all economic dealings with Iran.
“In light of regional escalations... all trade, commercial exchanges, and financial transactions with Iran have been halted until further notice,” foreign ministry communications director Afra Al Hameli said.
Earlier in the day, Abu Dhabi accused Iran of firing two ballistic missiles towards the country.
It later clarified the salvo was directed at shipping, with both missiles falling in the sea, one of them within the UAE’s territorial waters.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei “categorically rejected the United Arab Emirates’ claim that Iran had launched a missile towards that country”.
The neighbours across the Gulf share deep cultural and historical ties, and the UAE – home to a sizable Iranian community – had been a major trading partner for US-sanctioned Iran, at least before the war.
Tuesday’s announcement was the latest measure against Iran by the UAE after it recalled its ambassador early in the conflict and shut Iran-linked schools and a hospital.
Tankers belonging to the UAE’s state-owned oil company ADNOC have been repeatedly targeted in the past few weeks.
‘No talks’
Diplomatic efforts to settle the conflict have stalled, but Trump’s envoy and son-in-law Jared Kushner said on Monday that the United States and Iran were having “very positive and active conversations”.
The president, however, denied that was the case on Tuesday, again insisting that the Strait of Hormuz was open, despite the Iranian blockade having throttled traffic for months.
“There are no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled, with the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Naval Blockade remains in full force and effect,” Trump wrote on social media, referring to a US counter-blockade of Iranian ports.
Earlier Trump had posted a map showing the Strait of Hormuz as a “NEW US Territory”, echoing a previous threat to annex the conduit for oil and gas shipments.
The US has largely paused military operations, with US media reporting the war has put a strain on stockpiles of essential munitions, which Trump and the Pentagon have publicly denied.
The USS George Washington aircraft carrier is being redeployed to the Middle East to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln following reports of deteriorating living conditions for its crew. — AFP
