WASHINGTON/DUBAI/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Iran said on Thursday that if Washington renewed attacks it would respond with “long and painful strikes” on U.S. positions, complicating U.S. plans for an international coalition to open the Strait of Hormuz.
Two months into the war that started with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, the vital sea channel remains closed, choking off 20% of the world’s supplies of oil and gas. That has sent global energy prices surging and heightened concerns about the risks of an economic downturn.
Efforts to resolve the conflict have hit an impasse, with a ceasefire in place since April 8 but Iran still blocking the strait in response to a U.S. naval blockade of Iran’s oil exports, the country’s economic lifeline.
U.S. President Donald Trump is slated to receive a briefing on Thursday on plans for a series of fresh military strikes on Iran in hopes of making Iran more flexible on nuclear issues in negotiations, Axios news site reported.
That spurred big gains in oil prices, with the benchmark Brent crude contract hitting more than $126 a barrel at one point, its highest level since March 2022 after Russia’s military operation in Ukarine. It later slipped back to $113 a barrel.
Any U.S. attack on Iran, even if limited, will usher in “long and painful strikes” on U.S. regional positions, a senior Revolutionary Guards official said.
“We’ve seen what happened to your regional bases, we will see the same thing happen to your warships,” Aerospace Force Commander Majid Mousavi was quoted by Iranian media as saying.
Brent prices have doubled since the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran began on February 28, fuelling inflation and sending pump prices to politically painful levels worldwide.
As well as blocking almost all but its own shipping through the strait, Iran launched drones and missiles at Israel and U.S. bases, infrastructure and U.S.-linked companies in Gulf states.
Amazon on Thursday reported damage to its cloud regions in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates from the conflict and said restoring normal operations could take months.
