Iran commits to keeping Strait of Hormuz closed; Oil prices hit $100 again; Laundry fire on US aircraft carrier injures 2
People gather to show their support for Iran’s new supreme leader at Valiasr Square in Tehran. Photo: Reuters
TEHRAN:
Iran vowed Thursday to make the United States regret launching its war against the Islamic republic, and said it would maintain its grip on the Strait of Hormuz as oil prices soar.
The International Energy Agency warned that war in the Middle East could lead to “the biggest supply disruption” in the history of the oil industry, but US President Donald Trump wrote on social media that defeating Iran’s “evil empire” was more important than crude prices.
Trump has faced intense political pressure as the crisis’ global economic fallout deepens, and he has repeatedly issued mixed messages about when the U.S. campaign might end.
“Although it is easy to start a war, it cannot be won with a few tweets. We will not give in until we make you regret this grave miscalculation,” Iranian security chief Ali Larijani said on X.
His comments come after Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, issued a statement of defiance – his first since his appointment last Sunday following the death of his father and predecessor Ali Khamenei during a strike.
Mojtaba Khamenei, who was also reportedly injured, has yet to appear publicly since his appointment, and his message calling for revenge was read by a news anchor on state television.
“The leverage of blocking the Strait of Hormuz absolutely must be used,” Khamenei said of the waterway through which a quarter of the world’s maritime oil trade usually passes.
The Revolutionary Guards responded quickly, with navy commander Alireza Tangsiri saying: “In response to the order of the commander-in-chief, we will deal the heaviest blows to the aggressor” while keeping Hormuz closed.
The strait, which also normally sees a fifth of the world’s liquefied natural gas (LNG), lies off the coast of Iran and is just 54 kilometers (34 miles) wide at its narrowest point.
As oil prices rose above $100 a barrel, Trump declared that “it was far more interesting and important to me as president to prevent an evil empire, Iran, from possessing nuclear weapons and destroying the Middle East and, of course, the world.”
In an interview with AFP, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi said Tehran was acting only in “self-defense” and wanted to ensure that war could no longer be “imposed” on it.
Takht-Ravanchi confirmed that Iran had been approached by some “friendly countries” to end the conflict, without specifying which ones.
“We tell them the same thing, which is that we want the ceasefire to be part of a comprehensive formula to end the war,” he added.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright acknowledged that the US military was currently “not ready” to escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.
Israeli authorities said 14 people were killed, while attacks in the Gulf killed 24 people, including 11 civilians and seven U.S. military personnel, according to local authorities and U.S. Central Command.
In Iran, more than three million people have been displaced by war, according to new figures released Thursday by the United Nations refugee agency.
Iran’s Health Ministry said on March 8 that more than 1,200 people had been killed in the war, a figure that AFP could not independently verify.
Separately, two crew members of the USS Gerald R. Ford – the world’s largest aircraft carrier currently deployed for the war against Iran – were injured Thursday in a laundry room fire, the US Navy announced.
“Two sailors are currently receiving medical treatment for non-life-threatening injuries and are in stable condition,” a statement from US Naval Forces Central Command said.
The Navy said the fire, which originated “in the ship’s main laundry room,” was “not combat-related and was contained.”
The Navy said the Ford was now in the Red Sea as part of Operation Epic Fury – the name given to the massive US bombing of Iran launched by President Donald Trump on February 28.
“There is no damage to the ship’s propulsion system and the aircraft carrier remains fully operational,” the statement said.
The laundry episode is not the first incident reported by the nuclear giant, which was sent to the Middle East just after a months-long mission in the Caribbean that culminated in the January operation by U.S. forces to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
The Ford’s toilets were plagued by malfunctions and clogged due to misuse by sailors, according to US media.
