Iran says five-stage retaliation is complete
Iran said it had carried out five stages of retaliatory strikes against U.S. forces, while the Iranian Foreign Ministry said its memorandum of understanding with the United States had entered a "crisis stage." At the same time, U.S. Central Command confirmed a new round of precision strikes on dozens of targets inside Iran on local time July 12.
The report said the rising tensions in the Middle East also hit South Korean equities, with the KOSPI benchmark triggering a market-wide circuit breaker on July 13. It was the seventh such halt this year.
U.S. Central Command confirms new strikes
U.S. Central Command said at midday on July 13 that it had launched a new round of precision strikes on dozens of targets across multiple locations in Iran on local time July 12.
At around the same time, several explosions were reported east of Bandar Abbas and along the coast of Qeshm Island. Iran’s Fars News said the cause had not been fully confirmed, though the locations covered strategic points on both sides of the Strait of Hormuz.
IRGC describes fifth stage of reprisals
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a July 13 statement that it had completed the fifth stage of its retaliatory operation. According to the statement, the force "precisely targeted a U.S. military facility in Jufair, Bahrain, causing heavy damage," and also "successfully destroyed FPS radar and ship-detection radar in Oman."
Before that, the IRGC had also said it attacked a U.S. base in Kuwait and destroyed a facility for the U.S. military’s ATACMS missile system stationed there, with smoke rising from the site.
Baghaei says memorandum with U.S. is in crisis
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Baghaei said on July 13 that the memorandum of understanding with the United States had "undoubtedly entered a crisis stage." He said, "As long as the U.S. continues to violate its commitments, Iran will not abide by the memorandum of understanding."
Baghaei also said Iran had discussed only Strait of Hormuz issues with Oman in Muscat and had "not planned to discuss other topics." He said Iran was in talks with Oman on a mechanism to ensure the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, but that "because of the pressure on Oman, that goal was not achieved."
KOSPI triggers seventh circuit breaker of the year
With Middle East tensions rising again, South Korean stocks fell sharply on July 13. At 1:28 p.m. local reporting time cited in the report, or 12:28 Beijing time, the Korea Exchange activated a market-wide circuit breaker on the KOSPI benchmark, suspending trading in constituent stocks for 20 minutes.
This was the Korea Exchange’s seventh circuit breaker activation this year.
The report added that the Strait of Hormuz carries about 25% of global oil transportation and remains a critical maritime route for world trade.