Iran warns Trump and attacks “empty” threats
A senior Iranian security official issued a sharp warning to US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, denying his threats against Iran and calling on him to “be careful not to get eliminated.”Ali Larijani posted the letter on X after Trump warned that the US would hit Iran “twenty times harder” if Tehran disrupted oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
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Larijani wrote: “The sacrificial Iranian nation is not afraid of your empty threats. Even those greater than you could not eliminate Iran. Be careful not to be eliminated yourself.”He added in a separate message: “Iran is not afraid of your empty threats. Even those bigger than you could not eliminate the Iranian nation.”
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He wrote in another post: “The Strait of Hormuz will either be a strait of peace and prosperity for all, or it will be a strait of defeat and suffering for warmongers.”
The exchange represents the latest escalation in the war that erupted after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28, killing the country’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei and sparking a broader regional conflict.
Iran intensifies its regional attacks
Iran continued its military pressure across the Middle East on Tuesday, launching missile and drone attacks against Israel and several Gulf states, the Associated Press reported.
Sirens were heard warning of incoming missiles in Dubai, while authorities in Bahrain said an Iranian strike hit a residential building in the capital, killing a 29-year-old woman and wounding eight others.Saudi Arabia said that it intercepted two drones over its oil-rich eastern region, while the Kuwaiti National Guard announced that it shot down six drones.In Israel, air raid sirens sounded in Jerusalem, and explosions were heard in Tel Aviv as Israeli defense systems attempted to intercept incoming missiles, the Associated Press reported.Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf indicated that Tehran is not seeking to end the conflict.“We are certainly not seeking a ceasefire. We believe that the aggressor should be punched in the mouth so that he learns a lesson so that he never thinks about attacking his beloved Iran again,” Ghalibaf wrote on X.
Strait of Hormuz disruption fuels oil concerns
The conflict also led to major disruptions in global energy supplies.Iran targeted shipping and energy infrastructure around the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway linking the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, through which about 20% of global oil trade usually passes.The paramilitary Iranian Revolutionary Guard said it would not allow “the export of even one liter of oil from the region to the hostile side and its partners until further notice,” according to the Associated Press.The International Maritime Organization said attacks on commercial ships near the strait led to the deaths of at least seven sailors.This disruption has already caused oil prices to rise sharply. Brent crude rose to nearly $120 a barrel earlier this week before falling to about $90 on Tuesday, still 24 percent higher than it was before the war began on February 28, the Associated Press reported.
Trump warns of harsher American retaliation
Trump warned earlier that the United States would respond strongly if Iran tried to block oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.“If Iran does anything to stop the flow of oil within the Strait of Hormuz, it will suffer a blow from the United States of America twenty times stronger than the blow it has received so far,” he wrote on Truth Social.Despite the growing tensions, Trump sought to play down fears that the war could continue.The US President said the conflict would likely be a “short-term excursion”, although he had previously indicated it could last a month or more.Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to continue the Israeli military campaign against Iran.“Our goal is to push the Iranian people to throw off the yoke of tyranny,” Netanyahu said during a meeting with Israeli health leaders. “There is no doubt that with the measures taken so far, we are breaking their bones,” he added.
The conflict is spreading across the region
The war spread rapidly throughout the Middle East, attracting many countries and armed groups.Israel launched attacks on the Iranian-backed armed group Hezbollah in Lebanon, while militias allied with Tehran targeted US military bases in Iraq.On Tuesday, an airstrike hit the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces’ 40th Brigade in the city of Kirkuk, killing at least five fighters and wounding four, according to officials cited by the Associated Press.Elsewhere, the Australian Minister of Home Affairs said that five members of the Iranian women’s national football team who were in Australia to participate in a tournament when the war began had been granted asylum.Since the conflict began, at least 1,230 people have been killed in Iran, 397 in Lebanon, and 11 in Israel, while seven U.S. service members have also been killed, according to the Associated Press.
