WASHINGTON/DUBAI: Iran said on Thursday it would respond with “long and painful strikes” on U.S. positions if Washington renewed attacks, and also reasserted its control over the Strait of Hormuz, complicating U.S. plans for a coalition to reopen the waterway.
Two months into the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, the vital sea channel remains closed, choking off 20% of the world’s oil and gas supplies. That has sent global energy prices surging and heightened concerns about the risks of an economic downturn.
Efforts to resolve the conflict have hit an impasse, with a ceasefire in place since April 8 but Iran still blocking the strait in response to a U.S. naval blockade of Iran’s oil exports, the country’s economic lifeline.
U.S. President Donald Trump is slated to receive a briefing on Thursday on plans for a series of fresh military strikes on Iran to compel it to negotiate an end to the conflict, a U.S. official told Reuters.
Such options have long been part of U.S. planning but the proposed briefing, first reported by news site Axios late on Wednesday, spurred big gains in oil prices, with the benchmark Brent crude contract hitting more than $126 a barrel at one point.
It later slipped back to around $113 a barrel. Any U.S. attack on Iran, even if limited, will usher in “long and painful strikes” on U.S. regional positions, a senior Revolutionary Guards official said.
“We’ve seen what happened to your regional bases, we will see the same thing happen to your warships,” Aerospace Force Commander Majid Mousavi was quoted by Iranian media as saying.