LEILA FADEL, HOST:
The latest U.S. strikes on Iran aim to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
A major U.S. goal in the war is to clear the waterway that was clear before the U.S. started the war. In a few minutes, we'll get a perspective on where that effort stands from retired Rear Admiral John Kirby. We begin with the statements from both sides. The U.S. says Iran tried to lay mines in the strait, so the U.S. hit Iran. Iran claims the strikes hit civilians, and Iran opened fire on U.S. allies in the region.
FADEL: NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi is following all this from Istanbul and joins me now. Good morning.
HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, BYLINE: Good morning, Leila.
FADEL: So a second day of strikes. Walk me through what happened.
AL-SHALCHI: So late last night, the U.S. military issued a statement saying it had completed a wave of strikes against Iranian military targets. It said those targets included air defense sites, radar systems, communication sites and mine-laying capabilities. It said that the strikes were a result of recent Iranian attempts to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members based in the region. Iran retaliated by targeting U.S. assets in Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain and Iraq. The Kuwaiti armed forces said its defenses were, quote, "confronting Iranian missile and drone attacks" and told its citizens to find shelter.
Now, the Iranian Guard Corps spokesperson said today that U.S. forces bombed military and civilian targets in southern Iran, causing civilian and military casualties, and that Iran would continue to attack U.S. bases in the region. We also know Iranian state media reported that a U.S. strike on a wedding in southern Iran killed five people and wounded 50 others. The U.S. military didn't immediately respond to that claim, but the spokesperson for U.S. Central Command posted online that they were aware of reports of civilian casualties. There have also been heightened travel warnings for Americans traveling in the Middle East.
FADEL: So all of this is focused on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which, as Steve mentioned, was open before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran. Who controls the key waterway right now?
AL-SHALCHI: So, I mean, the short answer is no one country. Iran continues to blockade some routes in the waterway, and the U.S. has a Navy blockade on Iranian ports. But then yesterday, new data coming out of a maritime intel firm called TankerTrackers showed that around 4 million barrels of crude oil passed through the Strait of Hormuz on average per day in August, and it was all largely undetected by Iran. Now, that's still only a third of what exited the strait before the war, but notable nonetheless.
Iran has also said it was close to agreeing with Oman on a proposed framework to temporarily reopen the strait. Iranian officials said they'd come up with maps for establishing a temporary corridor, maritime control, traffic division. But then they've gone radio silent in the past few days on the status of those talks.
FADEL: President Trump has said he is in no hurry to get back to the table with Iran to negotiate opening the strait or ending the war, although we hear him change his position pretty frequently. Is Iran interested in getting back to talks?
AL-SHALCHI: Well, to be honest, Iranian officials for days now have been calling for a return to diplomacy. Just yesterday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran would go back to a ceasefire it reached with the U.S. in June if President Trump is willing to do so also. He said that Iran would, quote, "immediately reciprocate" if the U.S. commits to the promises it made in a memorandum of understanding.
And just as a reminder, that MOU called for an immediate ceasefire. And in it, Iran agreed to allow ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the U.S. to end its naval blockade, lift sanctions and have temporary relief on Iranian oil exports. But then, of course, the ceasefire broke in July after Iran struck tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
FADEL: That's NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi in Istanbul. Thank you, Hadeel.
AL-SHALCHI: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
