Ceasefire with Iran tested as cargo ship catches fire and Kuwait, UAE repel drone attack
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Iran’s shaky ceasefire was tested again on Sunday when a drone set fire to a ship off the coast of Qatar, while the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait reported separate drone incursions into their airspaces.
The UAE blamed Iran for the attack, the latest month-end threat, which the Trump administration says is still in effect.
No victims have been reported, and no one has claimed responsibility.
Iran and its allied armed groups have dozens of potentially peaceful drones and have used them to carry out hundreds of strikes since the war began.
The ceasefire has faced difficulties, with Iran imposing restrictions on traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, an important waterway that is key to the flow of oil around the world, and the US imposing a blockade on Iranian ports.
Awaiting details of Iran’s response
Washington has been waiting for Iran’s response to a new proposal for a deal to end the war, reopen the fleet and roll back Iran’s nuclear program. US President Donald Trump reiterated threats to resume full-scale bombing if Iran does not accept a deal to reopen the strait and scale back its nuclear program.
Iran has largely blocked the waterway since the joint strikes on Feb. 28 The US and Israel went to war, causing fuel prices to rise and world markets to falter.
One of the sticking points in the talks is the fate of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. The UN nuclear agency says Iran has more than 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent, which is a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels.
US President Donald Trump has justified the war with Iran by saying that the country is two weeks away from having a nuclear weapon. Nationally, CBC’s Eli Glasner debunks those claims and how close Iran was to developing a nuke.
The drones have been brought down
The UAE Ministry of Defense said on Sunday it had shot down two drones, blaming the attack on Iran.
In Kuwait, the spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, Brig. General Saud Abdulaziz Al Otaibi said hostile planes entered Kuwait’s airspace early Sunday, and the forces responded “in accordance with established procedures.” The ministry did not say where the drones came from.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defense of Qatar said that the illegal aircraft was targeting a commercial ship from Abu Dhabi to the southern port, which caught fire with a small fire that was extinguished. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said the attack took place 43 kilometers northeast of Qatar’s capital, Doha. It did not give details of the ship’s owner or its origin, and there was no request for commitment.
There have been several attacks on ships in the Persian Gulf this past week. On Friday, the US attacked two Iranian oil tankers after the vessels tried to breach its blockade of Iranian ports.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard navy on Sunday reiterated its warning that any attack on Iranian oil tankers or commercial vessels would be met with a “severe attack” on one of the US bases in the region and on enemy ships.
