Iranian official Mohsen Rezaei said his country was preparing a list of conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz after mediators asked Tehran to set them out. The Supreme National Security Council secretary also warned that Tehran would retaliate against US economic interests if president Donald Trump continued with the blockade of Iranian ports. His statement comes as the US is preparing to send another aircraft carrier to the Middle East after Trump vowed to continue the war with Iran “for as long as necessary” and without a timetable to resume peace talks.
Senior US Navy officials told CNN that the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier would be deployed for at least seven months. It is expected to relieve the George Washington, USNI reported. News of the deployment emerged as Trump told Al Jazeera that the US is "achieving a very big victory" over Iran on the eve of the six-month anniversary of the conflict.
The US president was insistent that he was “not in a hurry” to get back to peace talks with Tehran and has “no time line” to work to. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council secretary Mohsen Rezaei has warned that Tehran would retaliate against US economic interests if the US continued with the blockade of Iranian ports. He claimed that Iran had “broken the maritime blockade” during the ceasefire and exported almost 80 million barrels of oil.
Rezaei added that Iran was preparing a list of conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz after mediators asked Tehran to set them out. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has claimed that Donald Trump “continues to retain all options on the table” for the Iran war. Now we have Operation Economic Outcast to destroy their economy,” she told Fox News.
The US military commanders have claimed that American forces have cleared sea mines from the Strait of Hormuz that had been laid months ago by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. "Bottom line: today, international shipping lanes are open and momentum is building," said Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of the US military's Central Command. He claimed that US forces have in recent months helped 1,500 commercial vessels carrying nearly 750 million barrels of crude oil to transit the strait.
Oil prices fell this morning and are on track to snap a two-week winning streak, despite settling higher in the previous session following a report that president Donald Trump is not interested in returning to previous deal terms with Iran. Brent crude futures were down 25 cents, or 0.3 per cent, to $89.45 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 22 cents, also 0.3 per cent, to $83.31.
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