DUBAI.– Iran exhibited on Thursday its reinforced control over the Strait of Hormuz with a video of his commandos raiding a huge cargo ship, after the collapse of peace talks that Washington he hoped would allow the opening of the most important maritime corridor in the world.
State television broadcast images of masked troops approaching in a gray speedboat to the ship MSC Francescaclimbed a rope ladder to a side hatch in the hull and They jumped in carrying rifles.
The images, presented with an action movie soundtrack and no commentaryalso included views of another ship, the Epaminondas. Iran claimed to have captured both on Wednesday, accusing them of trying to cross the strait without permits.
The deputy speaker of parliament, Hamidreza Hajibabaeisaid that the first income from a toll that Iran would be charging Now ships using the strait had been transferred to the central bank account. He did not give further details about who had paid it, when or how much..
The head of the Iranian Judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni–Ejeistated that the merchant ships attacked in the strait had “confronted the law”. Iranian speedboats and naval drones were sheltered in sea caves off an island near the entrance to the strait and They kept the United States Navy unable to approach.
Iran, which has blocked passage through the strait to ships that are not its own since the United States and Israel started the war in February, has been left in apparent control of the sea route since last-minute peace talks were canceled on Tuesday, hours before a two-week ceasefire expired.
Tehran says it will not consider opening the straitthrough which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas normally transit, until USA lift the blockade on Iranian shipping itselfwhich Washington imposed during the ceasefire and which Iran considers a violation of that truce.
The US military has intercepted at least three Iranian-flagged oil tankers in Asian waters and they are diverting them from their positions near India, Malaysia and Sri Lankaaccording to sources from the maritime and security sector cited on Wednesday.
The American president, donald trump, announced on Tuesday an indefinite extension of the truce with Iranbut has refused to lift the blockade. The president said that a second cycle of talks could be held in the next three days, as reported by the newspaper The New York Postwithout offering official confirmation.
The Iranians, who endured six weeks of US and Israeli bombing before the April 8 ceasefiredescribed a climate of tension and uncertainty under the threat of a resumption of war.
“In a situation that is neither peace nor war, things are somewhat terrifying. “At every moment, you think that Israel or the United States could launch an attack,” he said. Arash35, a public employee in Tehran, told Reuters by phone. “You can’t make decisions about the future in a situation like this”he added.
Pakistan, that housed the only peace talks of the war at the beginning of the month and was preparing to host a second round before it was canceled on Tuesday, I was still in contact with both partiesaccording to a Pakistani government source.
The Pakistani official said that Iranian officials still did not commit to sending a delegationciting the US blockade and other reasons.
“Yesterday, Diplomats from different countries met with various Pakistani authorities and asked about the planned dates for the next round of talks, but clearly they couldn’t give them any deadline”said the Pakistani source.
Iran has publicly stated that it is, in principle, willing to engage in dialogue, but that the US blockade and Washington’s inconsistent demands They make any compromise impossible. The American delegation, led by Vice President J.D. Vance, never left Washington.
“They did not achieve their objectives through military aggression and they will not achieve them through intimidation”the head of the Iranian negotiating team, the president of Parliament, wrote on social media on Wednesday. Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf. “The only way is the recognition of the rights of the Iranian people,” he added.
The United States should, separately, host a second round of talks between Israel and Lebanon on Thursday, with Beirut seeking an extension of the ceasefire reached last week in a war that has run parallel to the conflict with Iran.
Israeli attacks They killed five people, including a journalistin Lebanon on Wednesday, the deadliest day in the country since the US-brokered truce went into effect last week. Iran maintains that maintaining the ceasefire in Lebanon is a precondition for talks about the broader war.
In the latest wartime realignment at the Pentagon, John Phelana billionaire investor named by Trump as Secretary of the Navy was fired Wednesday night. Two sources told Reuters that He was fired over disagreements over shipbuilding and poor relations with officialsincluding the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth.
The stalemate in the strait has left markets shaken by contradictory signals. The lack of a clear path to resolve the worst energy disruption in history boosted oil prices againbut with the fighting on pause, Wall Street stocks rose to record levels.
On Thursday, Stock markets fell in Japan, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and Germanybut they rose in South Korea and remained stable in France. Futures markets were anticipating a downward correction on Wall Street after Wednesday’s record close. Brent rose more than 1.5%, to $103.50 per barrel.
Until now, The United States has not achieved the objectives that Trump had set at the beginning of the war: deprive Iran of the ability to attack its neighbors, end its nuclear program, and facilitate the overthrow of its government by its population.
Iran has kept missiles and drones able to reach their neighbors, and maintains a stock of highly enriched uranium estimated by the UN atomic body in more than 400kg. Its authorities, who killed thousands to quell a popular uprising in January, have faced no organized opposition since the start of the war.
The Islamic regime also added a new element of pressure by taking control of the straitdespite threats from Trump, who this month wrote on social networks: “Open the damn strait, you crazy people, or you’re going to live in hell — YOU’LL SEE!”.
Agencies AFP and Reuters
