*Supreme Leader Speaks
*Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Says American Drone Shot Down
Iran’s Foreign Ministry has said the US broke the ceasefire in the Hormozgan region close to the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reports.
The Ministry said Iran will respond and will not hesitate in defending itself.
The US military carried out strikes on Monday in southern Iran against targets including boats attempting to lay mines and missile launch sites, in what it described as defensive actions.
The developments triggered a slight rise in global oil prices with the Brent crude moving up by three per cent.
It remains to be seen how this impacts the fluid Nigerian oil market where a litre of petrol already costs about N1500 in several filling stations across the oil-producing nation,in direct response to events in the Arabian Gulf.
“The United States committed a gross violation of the ceasefire in the Hormozgan region in the past 48 hours … Iran holds the US regime responsible for all the consequences resulting from these aggressive and unjustified actions,” the Iran Foreign Ministry statement said.
US forces attacked missile sites in southern Iran and boats trying to lay mines on Monday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said, as top Iranian negotiators arrived in Doha for talks to end the war.
“US forces conducted self-defence strikes in southern Iran to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces,” a CENTCOM spokesperson disclosed in a statement.
The statement gave no details of the attacks and said only that the targets included missile launch sites and boats trying to “emplace mines.”
The strikes threatened an already fragile ceasefire that began on 8 April and came as Iran’s top negotiator and its Foreign Minister, Abass Araghchi, were in Doha for talks with Qatar’s Prime Minister over the potential deal to end the war, Reuters quoted an official as saying.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said talks with Iran were going “nicely” but warned of fresh attacks if they failed.
It “will only be a Great Deal for all, or no Deal at all”, the President said on social media.
The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, who is in India, said today that the Strait of Hormuz had to be opened “one way or the other.”
“What’s happening there is unlawful, it’s illegal, it’s unsustainable for the world, it’s unacceptable,” he was quoted as telling reporters.
Rubio said the negotiating language of the deal with Iran could “take a few days.”
Oil Prices Rise Slightly
Brent crude oil rose 3% today after the US strikes in Iran, adding to uncertainty on whether a deal will be imminently reached to end the war and open up shipping flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
“While differences between the parties have narrowed, any eventual peace deal would likely lead only to a gradual reopening [of the Strait of Hormuz], meaning the current tight supply outlook could take months to normalise,” Ole Hansen at Saxo Bank told Reuters.
IRGC Talks War, Shoots Down US Drone
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it reserved the “legitimate and definite” right to retaliate against any ceasefire violations by the US, adding that its air defence units had shot down a US MQ-9 drone and fired at a fighter jet that had entered Iranian airspace, state media reported.
No More Safe Haven For US In Region -Iran’s Supreme Leader
Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on his Telegram channel that Gulf powers will no longer be a shield for US bases and the US will no longer have a safe haven in the region, Reuters reports.
The post followed the overnight attacks, testing the ceasefire agreed in April.
*PHOTO CAPTION: Trump and Khamenei.
