Iran threatens a forceful response if the US resumes attacks
Iran declared Thursday that it would respond with “prolonged and forceful attacks” on US positions if Washington resumed attacks and reasserted its claim to the Strait of Hormuz, complicating US plans for a coalition to reopen the sea lane. Two months after the start of the war between the US and Israel and Iran, the vital sea channel remains closed, disrupting the world’s supply of oil and gas by 20%.
This has sent global energy prices soaring and raised concerns about the risks of an economic recession. Efforts to resolve the conflict are at a stalemate. Although there has been a ceasefire since April 8, Iran continues to block the strait in response to the US naval blockade of Iranian oil exports, Tehran’s main economic lifeline. US President Donald Trump was due to receive a briefing on Thursday on plans for a series of new military strikes against Iran aimed at forcing it to negotiate an end to the conflict, a US official told Reuters.
These options have long been part of US planning, but reports of the proposed briefing, initially published by news website Axios late on Wednesday, sparked a sharp rise in oil prices, with benchmark Brent crude at one point reaching more than $126 per barrel. Subsequently, it fell to around $114.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei stated late Thursday that it was unreasonable to expect quick results from talks with the United States, according to the official IRNA news agency. “Expecting to achieve a result in a short time, regardless of who the mediator is, is not, in my opinion, very realistic,” he said. Air defense activity was heard in some areas of Tehran, Iran’s capital, late Thursday, Iran’s semiofficial Mehr news agency reported, and the Tasnim news agency said air defenses were targeting small drones and unmanned aerial surveillance vehicles. (Reuters)
