Ceasefire with Iran tested as cargo ship catches fire and Kuwait, U.A.E. repel drone attacks

The shaky ceasefire in the Iran war was tested again on Sunday when a drone set a small fire on a ship off the coast of Qatar, while the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait reported separate drones entering their airspaces.

The U.A.E. blamed Iran for the attack, the latest threat to a month-old ceasefire, which the Trump administration says remains in effect.

There were no casualties reported, and no one immediately claimed responsibility. 

Iran and its armed allied groups possess a large fleet of drones and have used them to carry out hundreds of strikes since the war began.

The ceasefire has faced difficulties, with Iran restricting traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway that is key to the global flow of oil, and the U.S. imposing a blockade of Iranian ports.

Waiting on details of Iran’s response

Washington has been awaiting Iran’s response to a new proposal for a deal to end the war, reopen the strait to shipping and roll back Iran’s nuclear program. U.S. President Donald Trump has reiterated threats to resume full-scale bombing if Iran doesn’t accept an agreement to reopen the strait and roll back its nuclear program.

Iran has mostly blocked the waterway since joint strikes on Feb. 28 by the U.S. and Israel launched the war, which has caused a global spike in fuel prices and rattled world markets.

One of the main sticking points in the negotiations is the fate of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. The UN nuclear agency says Iran has more than 440 kilograms of uranium that is enriched up to 60 per cent purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels.

WATCH | Breaking down Trump’s claims on Iran’s nuclear capacity:

How close Iran was to making a nuclear bomb

U.S. President Donald Trump has justified war with Iran by saying the country was two weeks away from having a nuclear weapon. For The National, CBC’s Eli Glasner breaks down those claims and how close Iran really was to building a nuke.

Drones downed 

The U.A.E.’s Defence Ministry said Sunday it shot down two drones, blaming the attack on Iran.

In Kuwait, Defence Ministry spokesperson Brig. Gen. Saud Abdulaziz Al Otaibi said hostile drones entered Kuwait’s airspace early Sunday, and forces responded “in accordance with established procedures.” The ministry didn’t say where the drones originated from. 

Meanwhile, Qatar’s Defence Ministry said a drone targeted a commercial ship coming from Abu Dhabi into a southern port, setting a small fire that was extinguished. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said the attack happened 43 kilometres northeast of Qatar’s capital, Doha. It provided no details about the ship’s owner or origin, and there was no claim of responsibility.

There have been several attacks against ships in the Persian Gulf over the past week. On Friday, the U.S. struck two Iranian oil tankers after it said that the vessels were trying to breach its blockade of Iran’s ports.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard navy on Sunday reiterated its warning that any attack on Iranian oil tankers or commercial vessels would be met with a “heavy assault” on one of the U.S. bases in the region and enemy ships.