A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
For a second time this week, the U.S. and Iran traded fire.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
The U.S. military says three Navy ships came under attack Thursday as they moved through waters near Iran. U.S. Central Command says it responded by attacking Iranian missile and drone strikes. Coming up, we'll speak with the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee about what Congress is doing to push the Trump administration to wind down the war. We begin with the latest developments from the region.
MARTÍNEZ: NPR international correspondent Aya Batrawy is in Dubai. Tell us - what else do we know about what happened last night in the Gulf?
AYA BATRAWY, BYLINE: Yes. This is the first report of U.S. airstrikes on Iranian soil since the ceasefire a month ago. CENTCOM says it responded to, quote, "unprovoked Iranian attacks" and responded with self-defense strikes yesterday after, they say, three U.S. Navy ships were attacked by Iranian speedboats, missiles and drones while moving through the Strait of Hormuz southward and out toward the Gulf of Oman. Now, CENTCOM says it intercepted those attacks. Iran, though, says the U.S. started this latest round of violence by attacking one of its oil tankers in the strait and that three areas along its coast were hit by U.S. airstrikes and that it did hit those U.S. naval ships transiting the strait. Iran's Fars News Agency published videos of Iran's missile attacks against U.S. forces. Have a listen.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Speaking Farsi).
(SOUNDBITE OF MISSILE LAUNCHING)
BATRAWY: And, A, this vital waterway was where we saw violence flare up also on Monday, when President Trump launched that surprise operation called Project Freedom to try and take control of the strait from Iran. But that operation was abruptly halted by Trump. And both times, the violence risked engulfing this region again. The United Arab Emirates, where I'm talking to you from, came under Iranian attacks throughout the week, including again last night.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. The control of the Strait of Hormuz is Iran's most important point of leverage. So what does this latest round of violence mean for the ceasefire?
BATRAWY: Right. This waterway is vital to the world, but Iran has blocked access to it to ships since the start of the war. And, you know, with ships unable to transit, we're seeing really high oil prices because there's now 13 million barrels of oil a day off the market and shortages in things like fertilizers and other products that come from this region. And this has hurt Trump's polling ahead of midterm elections later this year. But despite this latest round of violence, neither the U.S. or Iran seem eager to return to war. Listen to what Trump told reporters yesterday. He says the ceasefire is still on.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: They trifled with us today. We blew them away. They trifled. I call that a trifle. I'll let you know when there's no - you won't have to know. If there's no ceasefire, you're not going to have to know. You're just going to have to look at one big glow coming out of Iran.
BATRAWY: But alongside those comments, Trump is still threatening Iran with more bombing if it does not agree to a U.S. proposal to ending this war. Iran says it's reviewing that text and will deliver a response to mediator Pakistan.
MARTÍNEZ: Now, you mentioned the UAE coming under Iranian attack again this week. So what are you hearing from Gulf Arab states?
BATRAWY: The UAE has borne the brunt of Iran's attacks throughout this war, including this week, when its key oil terminal caught fire for two days from an Iranian drone attack. And it says it reserves the right to self-defense. And we also know that the UAE is using Israeli and U.S. defense systems to intercept Iran's attacks. Iran's foreign ministry, however, is warning leaders in Abu Dhabi against, quote, "collusion" with Israel and the U.S. But the UAE is doubling down on those alliances and says a ceasefire with Iran is not enough. It wants the U.S. to push for a deal that also limits Iran's missiles and drones and its support for proxies like Hezbollah.
But, you know, other countries in the region - like Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia - they're more supportive of current ceasefire efforts because they don't want their infrastructure attacked again. The Pakistani prime minister says that he and Saudi Arabia's crown prince asked Trump to halt Project Freedom earlier this week, and he did after just 36 hours. And supportive Gulf Arab states is important because the U.S. needs their approval to use bases and their airspace.
MARTÍNEZ: That's NPR international correspondent Aya Batrawy in Dubai. Thanks a lot.
BATRAWY: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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