A Chinese police ship in the South China Sea near the Taiwan-controlled Taiping Island, which is part of the Spratly Islands claimed by several countries.
A Chinese police ship in the South China Sea near the Taiwan-controlled Taiping Island, which is part of the Spratly Islands claimed by several countries. Photo: Taiwan's Government Via AP/TT
The Chinese coast guard is patrolling east of Taiwan in an operation that seems increasingly permanent. It must end, Taiwan warns.
Tensions have risen since China launched its first "law enforcement operation" in the area in June. The Chinese coast guard then called cargo ships passing off Taiwan and demanded information about the crew and destination.
This weekend, China announced that it intends to remain in the area.
Taiwan sees the operation as Chinese expansionism. Beijing’s behavior goes “far beyond what is permitted under international law,” according to Gregory Poling of the American think tank CSIS.
China must be stopped at an early stage, says Taiwan’s Vice Navy Minister Sung Chen-En.
“We will make sure that the patrols do not become permanent.”
Beijing has for years been expanding its military presence in the waters around Taiwan, which it sees as part of China.
– There are many former hedge fund people and people who do well on TV in the decision-making process, a source tells CNN.
The mistake is said to have killed 168 children.
The bombing of the girls' school in Minab in southern Iran occurred on the first day of the war on February 28.
According to Iranian state media, 168 children and 14 teachers were killed in the attack.
The US defense headquarters, the Pentagon, has not claimed responsibility for the bombing and has not yet published the results of its own internal review.
Quickly realized its mistake
– The investigation is still ongoing, a White House spokesman tells CNN.
– But as we have said before, the US does not attack civilians.
However, the TV channel has sources who say that the Pentagon quickly realized that it had made a terrible mistake.
– They knew after a few days how the mistake was made. It was clearly old intelligence, says a source.
The bombing occurred on the first day of the war 1 / 2Photo: Mehr News Agency
CNN states that the military leadership knew about the intelligence shortage in advance – but still chose to strike to save time under pressure from the White House.
The database that analysts used in search of targets to attack at the beginning of the war warned that the information on the area in Minab was old, several sources tell the TV channel.
Located on an army base
Messages that the intelligence was based on information that was several years old and needed to be re-examined and verified again were entered into the system.
Approval from a higher officer was also required for a target to be added to the attack list.
According to the old information, the girls' school was part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps army base.
The TV channel states that satellite images from 2013 show how the current school and the Revolutionary Guard base were then located in the same area.
Victims are dug out of the rubble after the attack. Photo: AP/TT However, images from 2016 show that a fence separating the school from the rest of the military facility has been set up. And more recent satellite images from December 2025 show dozens of people playing in the schoolyard, writes CNN.
However, those images were not in the database used to determine the targets of the bombing on the first day of the war.
Prioritized other targets
The Pentagon was under pressure to quickly update intelligence information for thousands of potential targets after President Trump's decision to start the war.
According to CNN's sources, they chose to prioritize moving targets that could have moved since the latest intelligence was collected and those that could pose the greatest threat to American military personnel.
Many possible fixed targets - such as the army base where the school was later built - were not updated before the war broke out, a source told the television channel.
According to the sources, the tragedy could have been avoided despite this.
An analyst had previously detected changes around the army base via another digital intelligence service, but that information had not been linked to the official intelligence database.
Graves for the victims of the school in Minab. The image was released by the Iranian regime. Photo: Iranian Government Via AP/TT
"TV profiles in the decision-making process"
The information was also not sent up the chain of command.
Several sources told CNN that senior Pentagon officials pressured staff to quickly identify targets to attack in the immediate run-up to the war, and that the pressure continued during the weeks that the conflict was ongoing.
That put a lot of pressure on analysts at the US Central Command (CENTCOM), who were tasked with identifying suitable targets for attack.
“The Pentagon is pushing everyone to act faster. There are a lot of former hedge fund people and people who do well on TV involved in the decision-making process,” a source told CNN.
“But the leadership at CENTCOM did not resist either.”
US launches new powerful attacks on Iranian targets: “Not over for a while”
The US is launching attacks on Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz, the military says, according to Reuters. The military command Centcom wrote in a statement that the “powerful attacks” are a response to Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
“Iran’s actions were unprovoked, dangerous and constitute a clear violation of the ceasefire.”
According to Iranian state media, several explosions have been heard in southern Iran. Loud bangs have also been heard on the island of Qeshm.
A government source tells CNN that the US attacks are disproportionate.
– This is a punishment. It will not be over for a while.
Formally, a ceasefire has existed between the US and Iran since the memorandum of understanding was signed last month, but the parties have repeatedly carried out attacks and accused each other of violating the ceasefire.
US suspends Iranian export permits – oil prices surge
The US is withdrawing a waiver that has allowed the sale of Iranian oil after several new attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. A US government official told Reuters, calling Iran's actions "totally unacceptable".
- As President Trump and the administration have repeatedly stressed, the memorandum of understanding with Iran is entirely performance-based, the official said, according to CNBC.
Oil prices are sharply up after the news. Both fuel oil and US WTI oil are rising by more than 5 percent. At the same time, Wall Street indices are falling deeper.
Building belonging to the US military command Centcom. Archive photo. Photo: Susan Walsh/AP/TT
Explosions have been heard in coastal areas in southern Iran, reports the Iranian state-controlled Fars news agency.
The US military confirms that it has launched attacks in response to Iranian attacks on maritime traffic in the region.
A “series of powerful” attacks are being directed at Iran, the US military command Centcom said in a statement on X shortly after 11 p.m. on Tuesday, Swedish time.
According to the statement, the aim is to provide a tangible response to Iran’s attacks on “commercial vessels crewed by innocent civilians.”
“The US attacks are a response to Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels operating in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s demonstrated aggression was unjustified, dangerous and a clear violation of the ceasefire,” writes Centcom.
Explosions in several places
Iran was earlier accused on Tuesday by Qatar and Saudi Arabia of having attacked the three ships.
Iran’s state radio and television company Irib stated that about an hour after the US attacks began that six explosions were heard on the island of Qeshm, seven in the city of Sirik and an as yet unclear number in the port city of Bandar Abbas.
Iran calls the attacks a violation of the memorandum of understanding between the countries.
Warning from Iran
“Iran issues a serious warning about the consequences of the US’s violation of the agreement and will take decisive measures to protect its interests and national security,” states Iran’s Foreign Ministry according to Irib.
The US attacks follow the US Treasury Department’s suspension of a waiver that temporarily lifted oil sanctions on Iran in mid-June.
The US targeted the same areas – Sirik and Qeshm – on the Strait of Hormuz in late June.
Formally, a ceasefire has been in place between the US and Iran since a memorandum of understanding to end the war was signed in mid-June.
