Iran threatens ‘full offensive’ in Hormuz if diplomacy with US fails; Trump rejects truce extension
Trump says US would “bomb” ally Oman if it “got in the way” in negotiations with Iran
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[DUBAI/ WASHINGTON] Iran will shift to a “fully offensive” military posture because efforts to negotiate a permanent end to its war with the US have stalled, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday (Aug 17), as Washington ruled out extending a temporary ceasefire agreement.
Outward progress towards peace talks and a resumption of oil tanker traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz has ground to a halt, with no sign that the warring parties are moving towards ending the conflict that the US and Israel launched on Feb 28.
“Iranian entities must be prepared to escalate tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and wider region, as Iran will be ready to make decisions and take action on difficult decisions,” the Iranian official said, adding that Teheran would conduct a “timely and precise” military attack to break the US naval blockade if diplomacy failed.
A memorandum of understanding signed in June to end the war had given Iran and the U.S. until Monday to reach a final peace agreement. Signed on Jun 17, the memorandum set a 60-day timeframe for a broader deal on Iran’s nuclear programme and US sanctions.
The agreement, which declared the “immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts”, quickly unravelled, however, due to a dispute over control of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flowed before the war.
Asked by reporters on Monday if the US was seeking to extend June’s interim agreement, US President Donald Trump said no.
Back channel to IRGC
In one glimmer of diplomacy, media reports said Trump had opened back-channel discussions with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) , which has become more powerful during the war and controls large parts of Iran’s armed forces and the economy.
Axios, citing two sources with direct knowledge, reported that US’ former director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard spoke with an Iraqi Kurdish leader with close ties to the IRGC, and that through this intermediary the US delivered a message to IRGC commander General Ahmad Vahidi.
Fox News later reported that Trump confirmed the report in a telephone interview.
The Trump administration was concerned whether Iranian negotiators across the table actually spoke for the IRGC, Axios said, at a time when Reuters was reporting that Vahidi had become a pivotal figure.
Vahidi responded that he was aligned with the Iranian negotiators, Axios said.
“I can’t go into the details of it, but I will say that the conversations between the US government and different areas of the Iranian government at all areas is probably more robust than it’s maybe ever been,” Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and special envoy, said in a separate interview with Fox News’ chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst on Monday.
Trump threatens to bomb Oman
Teheran said point five of the MOU gave it the right to manage the strait, which it shares with Oman, while Washington rejected that interpretation.
Hostilities resumed as Teheran began firing on vessels it said were trying to sail through Hormuz on an unapproved route, and Trump said on Jul 7 that the pact was “over”.
“Within the short period of a few weeks set by Iran, all the agreement’s provisions must be implemented by the US This is a precondition for further negotiations with the US,” the Iranian official told Reuters, adding that mediators would share Teheran’s deadline with Washington and regional states.
Iran has separately been negotiating an agreement with Oman over management of the strait, seen as a key component of a wider deal, and says they are close to agreement, although progress has been slow.
“If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them,” Trump told Fox.
Houthi attacks stoke concerns over wider war
Thousands of people have been killed in the conflict, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran at the end of February.
Iran has struck US assets and infrastructure in countries including Oman, Jordan, Kuwait, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
Trump warned Americans in a speech at a rally on Aug 14 to prepare for continued high fuel prices as a result of the war, while also saying that “after we finish defeating Iran ... pretty soon I’ll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States”.
Earlier on Monday, Trump repeated on his Truth Social platform that his main goal was to ensure that Iran never has nuclear weapons.
Benchmark Brent crude oil futures have surged since the start of the war in February, hitting a peak of US$126 a barrel, roughly 75 per cent above pre-war levels, with choppy trade reflecting concerns over disruptions to Gulf oil supplies and shifting signals on peace talks.
Brent crude edged up on Monday to around US$89 a barrel. Attacks by Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen have also renewed concerns about a widening regional war and the economic fallout it could bring.
In the latest incident, the Houthis attacked what they called a Saudi military ship and four escort vessels in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait with missiles, according to the group’s military spokesperson Yahya Saree on Telegram on Monday.
The strait is a strategic chokepoint connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and an important international shipping route.
There was no immediate confirmation from Saudi authorities. REUTERS
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