A tenuous ceasefire appeared to be holding Saturday after the United States struck two Iranian oil tankers, while Bahrain arrested dozens of people it alleged were linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
Attacks on Friday cast doubt on the month-old ceasefire that the United States has insisted is still in effect. The U.S. military said its forces disabled two Iranian tankers attempting to breach an American blockade of Iran's ports, and thwarted attacks on three Navy ships while striking Iranian military facilities in the strait. Washington is awaiting an Iranian response to its latest proposal for a deal to end the war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and roll back Tehran's disputed nuclear program.
In Bahrain, the nation's Ministry of Interior said Saturday it had arrested 41 people alleged to be part of a group affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guard, with investigations ongoing to take further action against anyone affiliated with the group.
Iran has mostly blocked the critical Strait of Hormuz for global energy since the U.S. and Israel launched the war on February 28, causing a global spike in fuel prices and rattling world markets. The U.S. has imposed its own blockade of Iran's ports. The U.S. military posted video of the two Iranian tankers as their smokestacks were struck by an American fighter jet on Friday.
Bahrain is led by a Sunni Muslim monarchy but, like Iran, its population is majority Shiite. The island nation hosts the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet. Rights groups have said that the kingdom has used the war between Iran and the U.S. as an excuse to crack down on dissent at home.
