Iran war live: Tehran rejects Trump’s Hormuz deadline; 2 killed in Haifa

Iran war: Tehran rejects Trump Hormuz deadline after 2 die in Haifa strike

Muhammad Asghar | GlobalBeat

Iranian officials dismissed President Donald Trump’s 72-hour ultimatum to end naval attacks near the Strait of Hormuz, hours after a suspected Hezbollah strike killed 2 civilians in northern Israel.

The rejection came Tuesday night as tanker traffic through the vital chokepoint dropped 40 percent and oil prices jumped $5.42 in after-hours trading.

Trump set the deadline Monday following a week of drone and missile attacks on commercial ships that Washington blames on Tehran’s Revolutionary Guard. The White House warned “all options” remain open if Iranian forces continue what it called “state piracy.”

Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told state television Iran “will not yield to maritime blackmail” and said the country’s navy would keep defending “legitimate interests in the Persian Gulf.” He offered no indication Tehran is prepared to negotiate.

Commercial insurers raised war-risk premiums for vessels calling at Gulf ports to levels not seen since the 1980s Tanker War, according to London’s Baltic Exchange. A single voyage on the Kuwait-Houston route now costs ship owners an extra $1.3 million.

The Pentagon moved a second carrier group into the region, bringing the number of US warships within striking distance of Iran to 14. Defense officials who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity said B-2 stealth bombers have also been deployed to the British-owned island of Diego Garcia.

Oil markets flinched. Brent crude surged to $82.16 a barrel while West Texas Intermediate touched $78.90 before profit-taking trimmed the gains. Analysts at JPMorgan warned a full blockade of Hormuz could push prices above $120 within days.

In northern Israel, rescue workers pulled the bodies of two dockworkers from the rubble of a cargo warehouse hit by what police said was a guided missile fired from Lebanon. The Israeli military accused Hezbollah of acting on Iranian orders and launched artillery barrages at southern Lebanese villages. At least 8 people were reported wounded on both sides of the frontier.

European diplomats scrambled to prevent a wider war. France’s foreign ministry summoned Iran’s ambassador in Paris and “firmly” demanded an immediate halt to attacks on civilian shipping. Britain drafted a resolution for the UN Security Council that would authorize “necessary measures” to keep the strait open, though Russia signaled it would veto any measure that contains an automatic use-of-force clause.

China called for restraint yet blamed Washington for退出 the 2015 nuclear deal that had limited Tehran’s atomic program. “Unilateral sanctions created this spiral,” vice foreign minister Ma Zhaoxu told reporters in Beijing. He urged both sides to “step back from the brink” but offered no concrete plan.

Tehran seemed unmoved. In a speech to veterans, Revolutionary Guard commander Hossein Salami vowed Iran would “turn the Persian Gulf into a graveyard for invaders” if attacked. State TV broadcast footage of speedboats firing rockets and anti-ship missiles it said could sink “any hostile target” within 200 kilometers.

The Guard’s navy operates hundreds of small, fast craft armed with torpedoes and shoulder-fired missiles. US commanders warn these vessels could swarm larger warships in narrow waters, overwhelming defenses through sheer numbers.

Insurance executives said re-routing tankers around the Cape of Good Hope would add 22 days to voyages and cost the industry $7 billion a month. Saudi Arabia and Iraq are already studying emergency pipelines that bypass Hormuz, but construction would take years.

Background

The Strait of Hormuz handles about 21 percent of global oil consumption. Iranian leaders have threatened to close the waterway repeatedly since the 1979 revolution, viewing it as strategic leverage against Western sanctions.

The last major confrontation occurred in 2019 after the Trump administration reimposed sanctions that cut Iran’s oil exports by 90 percent. Mines damaged six tankers that summer, and Tehran shot down a US surveillance drone. A retaliatory American air strike was called off at the last minute.

Monday’s ultimatum revived memories of that crisis. Trump told reporters the United States would “take whatever action is necessary” to protect navigation, language that echoed Ronald Reagan’s 1987 pledge during the so-called Tanker War phase of the Iran-Iraq conflict.

What’s Next

The 72-hour window expires early Friday Washington time. Diplomats at the United Nations expect emergency consultations within hours if Iran refuses to back down. European capitals are pushing a separate initiative that would pause some US sanctions in exchange for resumed nuclear inspections, but Tehran has so far shown little interest.