Trump issues new warning to Tehran

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The majority of those reported killed were in Iran and Lebanon, and many were civilians.

Iran confirmed yesterday the death of Revolutionary Guards Navy Commander Alireza Tangsiri, the latest of its leaders killed, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has been replaced by his son Mojtaba Khamenei.

The Iranians have effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway which carries about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.

Iran said yesterday it had received U.S. peace proposals via intermediaries, following talks on Sunday between the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

But Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the proposals were “unrealistic, illogical and excessive”.

“Our position is clear. We are under military aggression. Therefore, all our efforts and strength are focused on defending ourselves,” he told a news conference.

Soon after Baghaei’s remarks, Trump said in a social media post that the United States was in talks with a “more reasonable regime” to end the war in Iran, but he also issued a new warning over the Strait of Hormuz.

“Great progress has been made but, if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately ‘Open for Business,’ we will conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island,” Trump wrote.

Trump also threatened to attack the desalination plants that supply clean water in Iran. He said last week he would pause attacks on Iran’s energy plants for 10 days, which would be until April 6, U.S. time.

A ⁠Pakistani security official, whose country is trying to mediate in the war, said that at this stage it appeared unlikely there would be direct U.S.-Iran talks this week.

Baghaei also said Iran’s parliament was reviewing a possible exit from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which recognises the right to develop, research, produce and use nuclear energy as long as nuclear weapons are not pursued.

Trump has cited preventing Iran obtaining nuclear weapons as one of the reasons for attacking Iran on February 28. Tehran denies it is seeking a nuclear arsenal.

On Sunday, Trump said the U.S. and Iran had been meeting “directly and indirectly”. But he has also been sending more U.S. troops to the region and Iran has remained defiant, maintaining its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has fired on Arab Gulf ⁠states during the conflict and war has been reignited between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, where a UN peacekeeper from Indonesia was killed when a projectile exploded at one of its positions in southern Lebanon on Sunday. Another peacekeeper was critically injured.

Brent crude futures rose 66 cents or 0.6% to $113.23 a barrel at 1431 GMT after settling 4.2% higher on Friday, and were on course for a record monthly rise of almost 60%.

The Houthis’ attacks on Israel raised the prospect that they could target and block a ⁠second important shipping route, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

The oil market has all but discounted the prospect of a negotiated end to the war and “is bracing for a sharp escalation in military hostilities,” said Vandana Hari of oil-market provider Vanda Insights.

The Financial Times quoted Trump on Sunday as saying in an interview that the U.S. could seize Kharg Island, from where Iran exports much of its oil.

Taking control of Kharg would require ground troops. The U.S. Department of Defense is dispatching ⁠thousands of troops to the Middle East, giving Trump the option of launching a ground offensive, but he has not approved any of those plans, according to several news outlets.