Iran threatens war 'beyond the region' if US attacks

Iran has warned that the Middle East war would spread far beyond the region if the United States and Israel resumed their attacks, after President Donald Trump threatened to strike again unless a deal is reached.

A ceasefire on 8 April brought a halt to the conflict, which has roiled the global economy, but with Washington and Tehran seemingly reluctant to resume the fighting a war of words has taken its place.

Mr Trump has repeatedly threatened Tehran with renewed military action, while Iranian officials have hit back with their own warnings of devastating action.

Nevertheless, despite sporadic outbursts of violence, the two countries have continued to take part in diplomatic exchanges, mediated by Pakistan, aimed at bringing a formal end to the war.

Yesterday US Vice President JD Vance told reporters that "a lot of good progress is being made" and "we're just going to keep working at it", even as he told Iran the US military was "locked and loaded".

Iran's Revolutionary Guards issued their own threat today, saying, "if the aggression against Iran is repeated, the promised regional war will this time spread far beyond the region, and our devastating blows will crush you".

"The American-Zionist enemy ... must know that despite the offensive carried out against us using the full capabilities of the world's two most expensive armies, we have not deployed the full power of the Islamic revolution," the Guards said in a statement on their Sepah News website.

Citing Iranian diplomatic sources, official news agency IRNA meanwhile announced a visit to Tehran by Pakistan's Interior Minister, his second in less than a week.

Under pressure

Yesterday, Mr Trump insisted the US retained the upper hand and that Iran was desperate for peace.

"You know how it is to negotiate with a country where you're beating them badly. They come to the table, they're begging to make a deal," he said.

"I hope we don't have to do the war, but we may have to give them another big hit. I'm not sure yet."

He has previously made similar claims without a deal being concluded.

The US leader is himself under pressure, with rising energy costs beginning to bite at home.

While the ceasefire brought a halt to the fighting, it has not reopened the vital Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas usually pass.

The future of the waterway is a key sticking point in negotiations, but without a deal fears are growing for the global economy as pre-war stockpiles of oil are used up.

Rising fuel prices have caused widespread pain, with protests erupting in Kenya, which like many African countries is dependent on imports from the Gulf and where the public transport system has ground to a halt.

"It's unfortunate that we lost four Kenyans in today's violence, which also saw more than 30 people injured," Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen told reporters.

Chinese tankers cross strait

Iran has largely shut the Strait of Hormuz to all ships apart from its own since the US-Israeli campaign began on 28 February, causing the biggest disruption to global energy supplies in history. The United States responded last month with its own blockade of Iran's ports.

Two giant Chinese tankers laden with around 4 million barrels of oil exited the strait this morning, the latest signal that Iran is willing to ease its blockade for countries it considers friendly. Iran had announced last week, while Mr Trump was in Beijing for a summit, that it had reached an agreement to ease rules for Chinese ships.

South Korea's foreign minister said a Korean tanker was crossing the strait in cooperation with Iran.

Shipping monitor Lloyd's List said at least 54 ships had transited the strait last week, around double the number from the week before. But that is still only a tiny fraction of the 140 or so each day that typically crossed before the war.