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Washington has called for the release of around 700 people detained following widespread demonstrations in 2021

A front-page editorial on Monday on Cuba’s state-run Granma newspaper blamed the United States for having a “direct responsibility” for the widespread protests that gripped the caribbean island two years ago.

“The United States has a direct responsibility for the disturbances of July 11 and 12, 2021,” the publication wrote, ahead of the two-year anniversary of the unrest. It adds that Cubans had been paid by Washington to take part in violent acts, including robbery and assault.

The newspaper also claimed that a “campaign of disinformation and slander” was apparent on social media, as Havana was impacted by the US policy of “maximum pressure” which it says was “promoted by the White House.”

While US President Joe Biden has mostly maintained predecessor Donald Trump’s hardline, maximum-pressure policies on Cuba, his administration has rolled back some of the sanctions, including easing rules for US travelers and facilitating family remittances to the island.

In July 2021, Cubans protested en masse in almost 50 cities, with many simply calling for “freedom,” in protests brought on by an economic crisis described as being the worst the island has seen in three decades. Washington has imposed extensive, decades-long sanctions on Havana which, coupled with the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, has contributed to the country’s financial troubles.

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Cuba has also been faced with fuel and medicine shortages, problems with food distribution and its worsening public transport. US government data indicates that at least 140,000 Cubans have migrated to the United States since October 2021.

The US State Department has denied any involvement in the 2021 unrest, and has called for the release of around 700 persons imprisoned on various charges related to the demonstrations, including sedition.

Washington has claimed that “the [Cuban] regime continues to violently repress virtually any kind of peaceful public dissent,” Reuters reported on Monday. It added that Havana routinely “threatens families of detained protestors” who speak in public about the detention of their family-members.

The European Union (EU) has joined Washington in calling for the release of protesters linked to the 2021 demonstrations.

However, the United States’ hostile policies towards Cuba will make the release of prisoners “very difficult,” foreign relations expert Arturo Lopez-Levy told Reuters, adding that “a climate conducive to at least reducing tensions over the issue has not been built.”

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Tehran has accused the 5th Fleet of “risky and unprofessional” conduct

An Iranian admiral said on Monday that multiple US aircraft had attempted to prevent the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy from boarding an oil tanker suspected of smuggling.

“On July 6, IRGC Navy personnel were inspecting a ship named NADA 2 that was involved in smuggling Iranian oil and gas in the Persian Gulf, which the Americans sought to prevent through a series of risky and unprofessional actions,” Rear Admiral  Ramazan Zirrahi told Tasnim news agency.

Zirrahi commands the second naval district of the IRGC, headquartered in Bushehr. He told Tasnim that his men intercepted radio traffic between the ship’s captain and the “American command and control center in the region.” The 5th Fleet is based in Bahrain. 

The Americans allegedly told the captain to turn off the ship’s engines and wait to be rescued. Zirrahi claimed that the 5th Fleet then sent two A-10 ground attack planes, a P-8A Poseidon spy plane, two Black Hawk helicopters, a MQ-9 drone and “patrol vessels” to the site, but ultimately failed to prevent the seizure of the ship. 

On Friday, Fars news agency reported that an Emirati-flagged tanker was brought into the port of Bushehr with 12 crew members from four different countries. Iranian authorities said they confiscated over a million liters of smuggled fuel.

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US to confront Iran with naval deployments

The US Navy said at the time that it had “monitored” the interception of a ship in international waters but “decided not to make any further response,” according to Commander Tim Hawkins, 5th Fleet spokesman.

Hawkins had given a detailed statement about two incidents on July 5, when the 5th Fleet deployed a MQ-9 drone, a P-8 Poseidon plane, and the guided missile destroyer USS McFaul in the Gulf of Oman, in response to IRGC attempts to seize two oil tankers. In the span of about three hours, the IRGC vessels approached the Marshall Islands-flagged TRF Moss and the Bahamian-flagged Richmond Voyager, but retreated when the US destroyer came close, the US Navy said.

The US insists that Iran is “a clear threat to regional maritime security and the global economy,” and has accused Tehran of having “harassed, attacked or seized nearly 20 internationally flagged merchant vessels” since 2021.