Iran warns ‘not even started’ in Hormuz

Iran’s powerful chief negotiator warned the United States against any further escalation in the Strait of Hormuz, after a spate of attacks risked reigniting the Middle East war. The US military said its Apache and Seahawk helicopters hit six Iranian boats threatening commercial shipping and its forces repelled missile and drones on Monday, while the UAE reported fresh Iranian attacks on its territory. Iran’s latest warning followed US President Donald Trump announcing a plan to guide ships from neutral countries out of the Gulf, before the rivals traded fire as they vie for control of the waterway with duelling maritime blockades.

“We know full well that the continuation of the status quo is intolerable for America; whilst we have not even started yet,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, also the speaker in Iran’s parliament, wrote in a post on X. The war, which erupted more than two months ago with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, has spread throughout the Middle East and roiled the global economy, impacting hundreds of millions worldwide despite a weeks-long ceasefire. Ghalibaf said the actions of the US and its allies had put shipping security at risk, but said their “malign presence will diminish”, with Tehran vowing not to surrender control of the Hormuz strait.

It denied any of its combat ships had been hit in US attacks but accused Washington of killing five civilian passengers on boats. But despite the clashes under Trump’s effort dubbed “Project Freedom”, Denmark’s freight giant Maersk said on Tuesday that one of its ships had successfully sailed through the Hormuz under US escort. Iran’s military had threatened to attack any US forces that approached or entered the trade route.

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The UAE called Iranian missile and drone attacks including one on an energy facility in Fujairah “a dangerous escalation and an unacceptable transgression”, while key US ally Saudi Arabia called Tuesday for efforts “to reach a political solution”. But negotiations between Washington and Tehran remain deadlocked, with only one round of direct peace talks held so far.

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