The shaky ceasefire in the Iran war was tested again on Sunday when a cargo ship caught fire after being hit by an unknown projectile off Qatar’s coast, and Kuwait's military reported an attack by drones, without specifying where they came from.
The attacks were the latest threats to a month-old ceasefire, which the Trump administration says remains in effect. It has faced difficulties, with Iran restricting traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway key to the global flow of oil, and the US imposing a blockade of Iranian ports.
Washington has been awaiting Iran’s response to a new proposal for a deal to end the war, reopen the strait to shipping and roll back Iran’s nuclear program.
One of the main sticking points in the negotiations is the fate of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. The UN nuclear agency says Iran has more than 440 kilograms (970 pounds) of uranium that is enriched up to 60% purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels.
In an interview with Iranian state media, a spokesman for the Iranian military said that forces were on “full readiness” to protect nuclear sites where the uranium is stored.
“We considered it possible that they might intend to steal it through infiltration operations or heliborne operations,” Brig. Gen. Akrami Nia told the IRNA news agency late Saturday. He didn’t offer further details.
The majority of Iran’s highly enriched uranium is likely still at its Isfahan nuclear complex, International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi told The Associated Press last month.
The Isfahan facility was bombarded by US-Israeli airstrikes in the 12-day war last year, and faced less intense attacks in this year’s war.
In Sunday’s naval attack, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said that the strike caused a small fire on the ship, which was extinguished. The attack happened 23 nautical miles (43 kilometers) northeast of Qatar’s capital, Doha, the UKMTO said.
There were no reported casualties, it said. It gave no details on the owner or origin of the ship, and there was no claim of responsibility.
But there have been several attacks against ships in the Arabian Gulf over the past week. On Friday, the US struck two Iranian oil tankers after it said that the vessels were trying to breach its blockade of Iran’s 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 “heavy assault” on one of the US bases in the region and enemy ships.
In Kuwait, Defense Ministry spokesman Brig. Gen. Saud Abdulaziz Al Otaibi said that hostile drones entered Kuwait’s airspace early Sunday, and that forces responded “in accordance with established procedures.” There were no immediate reports of casualties.
US President Donald Trump has reiterated threats to resume full-scale bombing, if Iran doesn’t accept an agreement to reopen the strait and roll back its nuclear program. Iran has mostly blocked the critical waterway for global energy since joint strikes on Feb. 28 by the US and Israel launched the war, which has caused a global spike in fuel prices and rattled world markets.
