CENTCOM said its latest five-hour operation targeted military infrastructure across six locations in southern Iran, while Tehran warned that further retaliatory phases could follow if American military action continues.
Donald Trump also proposed charging commercial vessels a fee equivalent to 20 per cent of cargo value for US protection in the Strait of Hormuz, a demand Iran dismissed while asserting it remains responsible for securing the strategic waterway.
The reported escalation followed a dispute over an Iranian Mahan Air flight to Houthi-controlled Sanaa, after which Saudi forces struck the airport and the Houthis retaliated with missile and drone attacks on Abha airport.
CENTCOM said vessels travelling to or from Iranian ports would be stopped, while other shipping could continue. Tehran rejected Washington’s authority and warned against interference in routes controlled by Iranian forces.
The UAE has vowed to protect its strategic assets and condemned what it called an attack on commercial shipping, warning that the targeting of vessels in the Strait of Hormuz threatens regional stability and global energy security.
Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn swore in Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and cabinet ministers in a coalition government on Friday, following the royal endorsement of the new portfolios earlier this week.
Representatives from member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for the 21st ASEAN Chiefs of Defence Forces Meeting met here to discuss key issues affecting regional security and defence cooperation.
The Kamala Harris campaign said Friday it raised $361 million in August, which is nearly three times more than the $130 million raised by the team of her Republican rival and former President Donald Trump.
A US Marine in Japan's Okinawa was referred to prosecutors on suspicion of sexually assaulting and injuring a woman in June, the third case of its type to surface on the island this year, local media reported.
August 2024 has tied with August 2023 as the hottest August on record globally, with the average surface air temperature hitting 16.82 degrees Celsius, 0.71 degrees Celsius above the average August temperature from 1991 to 2020, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).
