The war in the Middle East is still among the leading topics in American and British publications today, BTA reported.
GREAT BRITAIN
US President Donald Trump has warned Iran that for every ship the Islamic Republic attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, US forces will blow up a bridge or power plant in the country, writes the British newspaper “Telegraph“.
Trump made this threat days after US forces destroyed at least five bridges around Bandar Abbas - a port city that is vital to Iran's trade and food supply, the publication notes. Threats to strike bridges used for civilian purposes have once again raised questions about whether these would constitute war crimes, the newspaper said.
Despite US attempts to open the Strait of Hormuz by force, Iran continues to block the sea route and has vowed to expand the scope of the war to the Red Sea and paralyze global oil supplies if the US continues its attacks, writes the “Telegraph“.
Many of Trump's proposed solutions to the conflict appear to be made up on the spot, writes the “Guardian“.
For example, he recently proposed that the US impose fees on ships for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, although European leaders and even Marco Rubio, his Secretary of State, had previously warned that this would be incompatible with international law, the publication said. The very fact that the US and Iran are even raising the issue of introducing transit fees is a sign of the willful disregard for international law that has become a defining feature of this conflict, the newspaper commented.
A number of experts now fear that other sea routes could also be militarized, as countries along their coasts see Iran using the Strait of Hormuz to exert pressure, notes the “Guardian“.
USA
The naval blockade of Saudi Arabia declared by Yemen's Houthis has raised concerns that an expanding war with Iran could aggravate the economic turmoil caused by the ongoing disruption of oil supplies, writes the “Washington Post“. The Trump administration's strikes on Iran have failed to weaken Tehran's grip on the Strait of Hormuz, and the Red Sea blockade risks closing another key shipping route, the newspaper notes.
About 10% of global oil supplies have been halted due to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz since the US and Israel went to war five months ago, the newspaper notes. If the Houthi blockade is successful, it could cut global supplies by another 7%, the American newspaper notes.
Iranian attacks on American targets in the Middle East over the past two weeks show that the country has retained its ability to inflict precise damage despite repeated claims by the Trump administration that Iran's military capabilities have been limited or destroyed, writes the “New York Times“.
Meanwhile, Trump last night attended the funeral of four young Army soldiers who died recently in the Middle East, telling reporters in advance that each of the dead supported the deadly war he is waging against Iran, the publication notes.
The president did not say how he knew the opinions of the dead soldiers, but Americans, including Republican supporters, are increasingly critical of the war in Iran, and the killings of American servicemen were a grim and widely reported reminder that the president had failed to end a war he had promised would be only a “short excursion”, commented the “New York Times“.