Iran and the US yesterday appeared at an impasse, with each side hardening its position over talks and setting the stage for another potential escalation in the Middle East war.
US President Donald Trump issued a warning to Tehran on social media to “get serious soon” on negotiating a deal to end the war, a day after he said a deal to end the war is near, despite Tehran’s dismissal of his 15-point ceasefire plan.
Thousands more US troops neared the region, while Tehran tightened its grip on the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
Photo: AFP
With its stranglehold on traffic through the strait, which leads from the Persian Gulf toward the open ocean, Iran has been blocking ships it perceives as linked to the US and Israeli war effort, but letting through a trickle of others.
Jasem Mohamed al-Budaiwi, secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a bloc of six Gulf Arab nations, said Iran was charging for safe passage through the strait.
The Fars and Tasnim news agencies quoted Iranian lawmaker Mohammadreza Rezaei Kouchi as saying that parliament was working to formalize that process.
“We provide its security, and it is natural that ships and oil tankers should pay such fees,” he was quoted as saying.
Lloyd’s List Intelligence called it a “de facto ‘toll booth’ regime.”
“While not all ships are paying a direct toll, at least two vessels have and the payment is settled in yuan,” Lloyd’s List said.
Meanwhile, sirens over Israel warned of barrages of incoming Iranian missiles and Gulf nations worked to intercept fire. Heavy strikes were reported in Iran’s capital and other cities.
The US and Iran have both produced a list of demands, and now appear at an impasse. Short of a negotiated solution, the US would need a dramatic escalation to end Iran’s attacks and restore the free flow of oil through the strait.
Trump vowed to strike Iran’s power plants if it does not fully reopen the strait — and his new deadline for that looms this weekend, when the war would also mark a month.
Iran’s grip on the strait and relentless attacks on Gulf regional energy infrastructure have sent oil prices skyrocketing and concerns of a global energy crisis surging. Brent crude, the international standard, yesterday traded at US$104, up more than 40 percent from Feb. 28, when the war started.
“To make it crystal clear, this war is a catastrophe for world’s economies,” German Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius told reporters during a visit to Australia.
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