Iran has announced plans to shut the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation to the recent US strikes on its territory. Tehran has pledged to launch two retaliatory attacks for every American target hit, as reported in a recent analysis.
Following President Trump’s declaration on Wednesday signaling the end of the cease-fire with Iran, Tehran cautioned against his renewed threats to attack. This warning came after a series of reciprocal strikes took place on Tuesday.
According to a source close to Tehran, as reported by Iran’s Press TV, “Trump will achieve nothing with his latest threats, and risks losing both the Strait of Hormuz and any leverage in negotiations for a final agreement.”
In an initial counteraction to America’s offensive against Iran’s coastal military facilities near the Strait of Hormuz, the Iranian military claims to have targeted 85 military locations throughout the Middle East overnight.
The American airstrikes followed Iran’s attacks on three vessels attempting to navigate through the Strait of Hormuz without authorization. Tehran has insisted on its complete control over this crucial oil transit passage as outlined in the memorandum of understanding.
With the aggression renewed, traffic along the Strait of Hormuz has fallen to a near halt, with only a handful of ships daring to cross on Wednesday.
The key trade route, which saw more than 130 ships cross daily before the war, had seen 108 ships cross the strait during the holiday weekend, according to maritime tracker Kpler.
As tensions remain high, Iranian officials dared the US to carry out more attacks against the Islamic Republic and try to take the Kharg Island oil hub, warning that such moves would result in American casualties.
“Come—we are waiting for you—and we promise that not a single American soldier will return alive,” Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesperson for the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee wrote on X.
Ali Akbar Velayati, Iran’s former foreign affairs minister, warned that Tehran “has its finger on the trigger” and will not “remain silent” under any provocation or humiliation.
Despite the repeated threats, Trump maintained that all-out war would not reignite because the US will always be able to hit Iran harder.
“I don’t think it’s going to start again. I think it’s going to go very quickly,” he told reporters in Ankara.
“They hit a couple of ships, and so we hit them much harder. When they hit, we hit 10 times harder, you know. We hit much harder than they do,” he added.
“I think anything that happens is going to be over very quickly, and we’ll only … make it safer, including for oil; oil is going to be very free, very easy, and easy, and it’s going to happen very fast,” he said.
The renewed fighting leads the Iran conflict into its fifth month after the president initially claimed it would only last a few weeks.