Iran has warned that it will respond with “prolonged and forceful attacks” against US positions if Washington resumes bombings and has reiterated the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, complicating US plans to create a coalition to reopen the maritime route. Two months after the start of the war between the US, Israel, and Iran, the vital maritime channel remains closed, disrupting 20% of the global oil and gas supply. These Iranian threats come after the US military announced a plan to launch a series of “brief and forceful” attacks against Iran in an attempt to unblock negotiations. Israel stated that it is part of this plan and is considering attacking Iran “soon” to “eliminate existential threats,” in the words of Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz. On the other hand, US President Donald Trump again threatened Italy and Spain on Thursday with withdrawing their troops for not “pulling their weight” in the Iran war.
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WAR AGAINST IRAN
US blockade saturates Iran’s oil storage and threatens to close wells
The naval blockade imposed by the United States on Iran initially focused attention on obstacles to crude oil exports. However, in recent days several specialists have warned of a more serious risk: the saturation of its oil storage capacity and ―consequently― the possible obstruction of wells. A situation that, if it occurs, could cause dangerous long-term damage to crude extraction facilities.
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Investment
The stock market forgets the war and starts May detached from oil prices
Two months of war and two months with the Strait of Hormuz tightly closed. Rising inflation. Signs of economic cooling and supply risks. One of the most severe scenarios that, on paper, any group of economists could imagine. And yet, that same scenario coexists today with stock markets at historic highs. With no signs of normalization in the Persian Gulf and the risk of stagflation gaining ground in Europe, investors maintain the expectation that the United States and Iran will reach some kind of understanding. A conviction that has not dissipated despite repeatedly clashing with reality throughout April, a month that, against all odds, has turned out to be an excellent month for the stock market.
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Iran threatens a forceful response if the US resumes attacks
Iran declared on Thursday that it would respond with “prolonged and forceful attacks” against US positions if Washington resumed attacks and reaffirmed its claim over the Strait of Hormuz, complicating US plans for a coalition to reopen the maritime route. Two months after the start of the war between the US, Israel, and Iran, the vital maritime channel remains closed, disrupting 20% of the global oil and gas supply.
This has driven up global energy prices and increased concerns about the risks of an economic recession. Efforts to resolve the conflict are at a standstill. Although there has been a ceasefire since April 8, Iran continues to block the strait in response to the US naval blockade of Iranian oil exports, Tehran’s main economic support. US President Donald Trump was scheduled to receive a briefing on Thursday about plans for a series of new military attacks against Iran to force it to negotiate an end to the conflict, a US official told Reuters.
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These options have been part of US planning for some time, but reports about the proposed briefing, initially published by the news website Axios late Wednesday, caused a sharp rise in oil prices, with benchmark Brent crude briefly exceeding $126 per barrel. It later retreated to around $114.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Thursday night that it was not reasonable to expect quick results from talks with the United States, according to the official IRNA news agency. “Expecting to reach a result in a short time, regardless of who the mediator is, is not, in my opinion, very realistic,” he said. Air defense activity was heard in some areas of Tehran, Iran’s capital, late Thursday, according to the semi-official Iranian news agency Mehr, and the Tasnim news agency indicated that air defenses were attacking small drones and unmanned surveillance aerial vehicles. (Reuters)
GERMANY
Trump threatens to reduce US military presence in Germany, Spain, and Italy over those countries’ criticism of the Iran war
Relations between German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and US President Donald Trump gave worrying signs of deterioration on Wednesday night (Washington time, six hours ahead in mainland Spain) with the latest salvo from the Republican. It was when, after the German conservative leader’s criticism of the United States over the Iran war, the White House occupant threatened a change in the bilateral relationship between the two countries born from the ashes of World War II. “The United States is studying and reviewing the possible reduction of troops in Germany, and a decision will be made shortly,” Trump wrote on his social network, Truth.
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Good morning. We begin the live narration of the situation in the Middle East. US President Donald Trump again threatened Italy and Spain on Thursday with withdrawing their troops for not “pulling their weight” in the Iran war.
Additionally, Tehran has assured that it would respond with “prolonged and forceful attacks” against US positions if Washington resumed attacks and reaffirmed its claim over the Strait of Hormuz, complicating US plans for a coalition to reopen the maritime route.
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