A new map featuring two red lines stretching beyond the Strait of Hormuz has become the latest symbol of the escalating war of attrition between Iran and the US.Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Monday released a map marking an expanded maritime area of control to include lengthy sections of the United Arab Emirates’s coastline. In the west, a line stretches between the westernmost tip of Iran’s Qeshm Island to the UAE’s Umm al Quwain emirate, while in the east, a second line joins Iran’s Mount Mobarak and the UAE’s Fujairah.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listThe announcement came after US President Donald Trump launched a new effort to open the vital energy chokepoint – which has been largely closed since the US-Israel war on Iran began on February 28 – by sending the navy to escort stranded tankers through the strait, in a campaign dubbed “Project Freedom”.In a further escalation, the UAE on Monday reported drone and missile attacks, including one that caused a fire at a major energy hub in Fujairah, marking the first such incidents in a Gulf state since a US-Iran ceasefire on April 8. The UAE blamed Iran for the attacks. Though Tehran has not officially confirmed the strike, it appeared to acknowledge on Tuesday that it was behind the strikes, while saying that the US and its actions in the region were responsible.Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a …
