Explosions Hit Iranian Oil Terminals After Ceasefire
Explosions rocked two key Iranian oil terminals on Lavan Island and Sirri Island early Thursday, just hours after the United States and Iran reached a fragile two-week ceasefire agreement aimed at easing escalating tensions in the Middle East. The incidents, reported by Iranian state media, occurred amid uncertainty over the truce's terms and ongoing Israeli military actions in Lebanon, raising immediate questions about the agreement's viability.
The ceasefire, announced Wednesday by President Donald Trump, followed weeks of heightened conflict, including U.S. airstrikes on more than 50 military targets on Iran's Kharg Island earlier in the week. U.S. officials described those strikes as precisely targeted to degrade Iranian military capabilities while sparing oil infrastructure, the island's primary export hub for crude. The deal came on the eve of a U.S. deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint for about 20 percent of global oil shipments, which Iran had closed in response to recent Israeli operations.
Iranian media outlets, including the Mehr agency, confirmed the blasts at the Lavan Island refinery in the Persian Gulf and Sirri Island near the...