MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The U.S. struck five Iranian oil tankers overnight.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Iran hit back lighting up the night sky in Jordan as interceptors tried to stop missiles hurtling at U.S. troops at an airbase there. The latest turmoil pushed Brent crude oil prices over $100 a barrel today. In a few moments, we'll speak with retired General Joseph Votel, a former leader of U.S. Central Command. We begin with the latest developments on the ground.
MARTIN: Joining us is NPR international correspondent Aya Batrawy in Dubai. Good morning, Aya.
AYA BATRAWY, BYLINE: Good morning, Michel.
MARTIN: So could you start us off with what happened last night?
BATRAWY: U.S. Central Command says it destroyed five Iranian oil carriers in the Gulf of Oman and off of Iran's Kharg Island. Now, CENTCOM says it did give notice to crews aboard those ships to abandon them before they were bombed. And it says that these attacks were in response to Iranian missile attacks on a U.S. Navy warship that were successfully evaded. So since Saturday, Michel, we now have the U.S. striking eight Iranian crude oil tankers, and this is another blow to Iran's economic lifeline that goes beyond the aggressive sanctions that are already in place and the existing U.S. naval blockade on Iran's oil shipments.
MARTIN: What was Iran's response?
FADEL: Well, Iran's Revolutionary Guard says it targeted U.S. vessels and oil tankers as well as 10 ships trying to transit through the Strait of Hormuz with U.S. help. Now, there's no confirmation on what was hit from those attacks. But Iran also attacked U.S. troops at an airbase in Jordan. Jordan says it intercepted all but two of Iran's 20 missiles last night. It says there were no deaths recorded, but, Michel, it made no mention of injuries from those attacks.
And one more thing, Iran also released visuals yesterday of an underwater U.S. Naval drone that it captured. One of Iran's official accounts on X described it as one of America's most mysterious underwater toys now in Iran's possession. And all of this just shows how Iran remains undeterred in the face of sustained U.S. military pressure.
MARTIN: Aya, Iran has been targeting American assets and troops in the region since the start of the war. And this brings up the bigger question, what is the U.S. strategy now in the region?
BATRAWY: Exactly, and that is unclear. And there's also little discussion around the future of the U.S. footprint in the region. In part, that's because permanently pulling back troops now could signal weakness to Iran and other adversaries like Russia and China, and U.S. bases in Gulf Arab states and Jordan were meant to be a deterrence, but they've actually been used to attack Iran and it's partly why Iran has now attacked these countries throughout the war. So Arab allies are broadening their defense ties with other countries and waiting, really, for the U.S. to show what its path forward is going to be.
Meanwhile, you have the Pentagon under Secretary Pete Hegseth not being forthcoming about damage to U.S. bases from this war and the Trump administration asking satellite companies to censor their images over the Gulf. Still, we do know that in Bahrain, where the Navy's Fifth Fleet was hit by Iran, there were some 8,000 military personnel there. Now it's less than 100. I asked Mackenzie Eaglen who's with the American Enterprise Institute and is co-chair of the National Commission on the Future of the Navy about this lack of transparency.
MACKENZIE EAGLEN: It's hugely damaging, just one, for precedent studying because it's not how, you know, we operate in a federal republic. And two, it's not going to help, like, Congress grapple with, you know, how is our military performing? How are we ahead? How are we behind? What could we do differently? What could we do better?
BATRAWY: And, Michel, one indication, though, of how things are going actually came from the chief of naval operations, Daryl Caudle. He was asked last week during a livestream when sailors would be - actually be able to go back to Bahrain to pick up their personal belongings. And his answer was, we are not going back in there anytime soon.
MARTIN: That is NPR international correspondent Aya Batrawy in Dubai. Thanks, Aya.
BATRAWY: Thanks, Michel. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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