After another postponement of the ultimatum and the latest threats from US President Donald Trump, the regime in Tehran announced that it will increase attacks. If the US and Israel escalate their attacks, important shipping lanes for the global energy market outside the Strait of Hormuz could be threatened, said Ali Akbar Velayati, foreign policy advisor to Iran's supreme leader. The Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the approaches to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, could be affected.
"If the White House is considering repeating its foolish mistakes, it will quickly realize that the flow of global energy and trade can be interrupted with a single signal," the former Iranian foreign minister added, referring to Trump's threats to intensify strikes against Iran.
Regarding the Strait of Hormuz, Mehdi Tabatabai, who is responsible for communications in the Iranian president's office, wrote that the route will only be reopened when "within the framework of a new legal order, through a part of the transit fees, the damages from the forced war are fully compensated".
The Revolutionary Guards' naval command was quoted by Iranian media as saying that the Strait of Hormuz "will never return to its previous state, especially for the United States and Israel".
Trump's vulgar insults
Previously, Trump threatened with intense attacks if transit through the Strait of Hormuz was not opened. "If you do nothing by Tuesday night, there will be not a single power plant and not a single bridge left", the American president told the "Wall Street Journal". This is the third time that Trump has postponed his ultimatum, ARD notes.
In a post published almost simultaneously with the interview on the Truth Social platform, Trump indicated that it was 8 p.m. on Tuesday according to the Eastern Time Zone in the United States. His words struck with their vulgarity, the German public media noted: "Open the damn strait, you crazy bastards, or you will live in hell. Praise be to Allah!".
Tabatabai reacted no less unequivocally. Trump resorted to crude insults out of "sheer desperation and anger", he wrote in X, as well as: "This stupid bastard, in his madness, has ignited an all-out war in the region and is bragging about it".
Are there any ceasefire talks?
Meanwhile, according to media reports, negotiations are underway to establish a ceasefire. As the American news portal Axios reported, citing American, Israeli and regional sources, the United States, Iran and regional mediators were negotiating a 45-day ceasefire. This was the only chance to prevent a dramatic escalation.
ARD writes that a two-phase agreement is being discussed. First, a 45-day ceasefire must come into effect in order to talk about a final end to the fighting. Then, in the second phase, a corresponding agreement must be concluded, Axios reported. If necessary, the ceasefire could be extended. The site's sources describe the chances of reaching a partial agreement within the next 48 hours as slim. There has been no official confirmation of the published information so far.
Iran and the US have received a plan to end the fighting
According to information from the "Reuters" agency, Iran and the US have received a plan to end the fighting between them, which is due to come into effect today and open the Strait of Hormuz. The information was obtained from a trusted source.
According to him, Pakistan has developed a framework for ending the clashes and provided it to Iran and the US. It envisages two phases - an immediate ceasefire, which will be followed by a comprehensive agreement.
"All elements must be agreed upon today," the source also said.