Iran’s chief negotiator in talks with the United States warned on Tuesday that Tehran has “not even started” in the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz, signalling further escalation a day after Iranian missiles set ablaze a UAE oil port and the US Navy sank six Iranian fast boats.
“We know full well that the continuation of the status quo is intolerable for America; whilst we have not even started yet,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who is also the Speaker of Iran’s parliament, said in a post on X. He said the actions of the US and its allies had put shipping security at risk but that their “malign presence will diminish.”
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who has been leading dialogue with Washington, said Monday’s events showed there was no military solution and that peace talks were progressing through Pakistan’s mediation. He warned the US and the United Arab Emirates against being drawn into a “quagmire.”
The strait, virtually closed since the US-Israel campaign against Iran began on February 28, has been kept shut by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps under threat of mines, drones, missiles and gunboats. Washington has responded with a blockade of Iranian ports. The US military said two American merchant ships made it through the strait with the support of Navy guided-missile destroyers, without specifying when. Iran denied any crossings had taken place.
The renewed sabre-rattling jolted Sri Lankan markets. The Colombo Stock Exchange’s All Share Price Index closed down 0.49% at 22,584 on Tuesday, with brokers citing “panicked retail selling” tied to the Middle East. Brent crude has hovered above $100 a barrel for weeks, anchoring four fuel-price hikes in five weeks for Sri Lankan consumers.
Sources: Ada Derana, EconomyNext.
