Donald Trump has set a Tuesday deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz or face “hell”, saying the US will hit Iranian power plants and bridges.
Iran says it will respond “in kind” to any attacks on its infrastructure, with senior officials condemning the US president’s remarks as “incitement to war crimes”.
An Iranian missile has hit a residential building in Israel’s Haifa, wounding four people and leaving four others missing, according to Israeli media.
Iranian attacks across the Gulf continue, with power, water desalination and oil plants hit in Kuwait and an oil facility targeted in Bahrain.
Iran warns shipping lanes beyond Strait of Hormuz at risk if US and Israel escalate attacks
A senior advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader has issued a sharp warning over global energy routes, suggesting key maritime chokepoints beyond the Strait of Hormuz could be targeted if the US and Israel escalate further.
Ali Akbar Velayati, an advisor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said a single misstep by either country could severely disrupt global energy flows and international trade. According to Iran’s state-run Press TV, he said the “unified command of the resistance” views the Bab el-Mandab Strait as “equally strategic as the Strait of Hormuz”.
His comments came after Trump threatened to “unleash hell” on Iran if it does not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday.
Velayati added that while the US has learned certain lessons from Iran’s history, it “has yet to understand the geography of power”.
The Bab el-Mandab Strait, off the coast of Yemen, connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea, serving as a critical chokepoint for shipping heading toward the Suez Canal.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels, aligned with Tehran, has previously warned it stands ready to strike the waterway in solidarity with Iran. The group’s attacks on Red Sea shipping during Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza caused widespread disruption to international trade.