Iran threatens new strikes

Iran warned on Tuesday of potential attacks on infrastructure across the Middle East as it awaited a formal response from Washington regarding a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The comments came from Iran's foreign minister, who said he expected a formal US reply within a day. The fighting has largely quieted down in recent weeks, but Iran has continued targeting ships in the strait, leading Washington to rely on economic sanctions instead of further military action.

Iran's chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, vowed on Tuesday that no infrastructure in the region would be safe unless Iran's security was guaranteed. Ghalibaf, who is also Iran's parliament speaker, stated that if his country's security was not ensured, no one would be able to sell oil in a region where oil sales have halted.

The United States has dismissed Iran's proposal, but Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said discussions were ongoing, and the focus was solely on the Strait of Hormuz. A pre-condition for ending the blockade by Iran is a seven-day ceasefire across the Middle East, including in Lebanon, where Iran's ally Hezbollah faces frequent Israeli bombings.

Iran also demands the unfreezing of its foreign assets, lifting of sanctions on its oil sector, and the end of the US naval blockade on its ports. Both sides claim control over Hormuz; the US says oil is moving through it, while Tehran insists it is closed. Iran's Revolutionary Guard, the military's ideological wing, dismissed the US claim that the strait remains open, stating that only around 125 vessels would pass through daily, carrying a minimum of 20 million barrels of oil and petroleum products.