Iran threatens 'painful' response if US renews attacks

Iran has said it would respond with "long and painful strikes" on US positions if Washington renewed attacks and restated its claim to the Strait of Hormuz, complicating US plans for a coalition to reopen the ⁠waterway.

Two months into the US-Israeli war with Iran, the vital sea channel remains closed, choking off 20% of the world's oil and gas supplies.

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 8 April but Iran still blocking the Strait of Hormuz in response to a US naval blockade of Iran's oil exports, Tehran's economic lifeline.

US President Donald Trump was scheduled to receive a briefing yesterday on plans for a series of fresh military strikes to compel Iran to negotiate an end to the conflict, a US official told Reuters.

Such options have long been part of US planning but reports of the proposed briefing, first issued by news site Axios late on Wednesday, initially spurred big gains in oil prices, with the benchmark Brent crude contract hitting more than $126 (€107) a barrel at one point.

It later slipped back to around $114 (€97).

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said yesterday evening that it was not reasonable to expect quick results from US talks, according to the official IRNA news agency.

"Expecting to reach a result in a short time, regardless of who the mediator is, in my opinion, is not very realistic," he was quoted as saying.

Air defence activity was heard in some areas of Iran's capital Tehran late last night, Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency reported.

Tasnim news ‌agency said air defences were engaging small drones and unmanned surveillance aerial vehicles.

The United Arab Emirates said it banned its citizens from travelling to Iran, Lebanon and Iraq, and urged those currently in those countries to leave immediately and return home, citing regional developments.

Mr Trump reiterated to reporters yesterday that Iran would not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon and that the price of gasoline - a key concern for his Republican Party ahead of the November midterm elections - would "drop like a rock" as soon as the war ended.

While repeating allegations of serious rights violations by Iran, Mr Trump said he was "OK" with it playing in the upcoming soccer World Cup in the United States after FIFA President Gianni Infantino insisted the country would take part.

A senior official of Iran's Revolutionary Guards said any new US attack on Iran, even if limited, would usher in "long and painful strikes" on US regional positions‌.

Aerospace Force Commander Majid Mousavi was quoted by Iranian media as saying: "We've seen what happened to your regional bases, we will see the same thing happen to your warships."

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said in a written message to Iranians that Tehran would eliminate "the enemies' abuses of the waterway" under new management of the Strait of Hormuz, indicating that Tehran intended to maintain its hold over it.

"Foreigners who ⁠come from thousands of kilometres away ... have no place there except at the bottom of its waters," he said.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that if the disruption caused by the closure dragged on through mid-year, global growth would fall, inflation would rise and ‌tens of millions more people would be pushed into poverty and extreme hunger.

"The longer this vital artery is choked, the harder it will be to reverse the damage," he told reporters ⁠in New York.

As well as blocking almost all but its own shipping through the Strait of Hormuz during the war, Iran launched drones and missiles at Israel ⁠and at US bases, infrastructure and US-linked companies in Gulf states.

Axios said that another plan to be shared with Mr Trump during the briefing involved using ground forces to take over part of the strait to reopen it to commercial shipping.

Mr Trump is also considering extending the US blockade or declaring a unilateral victory, officials have said.

In a sign the US was also envisaging a scenario where hostilities cease, a State Department cable due to be delivered orally to partner nations by 1 May invited them to join a new coalition, called the Maritime Freedom Construct, to enable ships to navigate the strait.

France, Britain and other countries have held talks on contributing to such a coalition but said they were willing to help open the strait only when the conflict ends.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said after talks with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri that halting Israeli attacks on Lebanon, where a shaky ceasefire is in place, formed part of the Iran–US ceasefire understanding and would remain a key issue in any future process.

Mediator Pakistan ‌was trying to avoid escalation while the US and Iran exchange messages on a potential deal, a Pakistani source said on Wednesday.

A US-Iran ceasefire that began in early April has "terminated" hostilities between the two sides for the purposes of an approaching congressional war ⁠powers deadline, a senior official of President Donald Trump's administration has said.

Mr Trump faced a deadline today to end the Iran war or make the case to Congress for extending it, but the date was most likely to pass without altering the course of the war.

"For War Powers Resolution purposes, the hostilities that began on Saturday 28 February have terminated," said the official, describing the administration's thinking.

There has been no exchange of fire between the US armed forces and Iran since a fragile ceasefire began ‌more than three weeks ago, the ⁠official added.

Earlier, analysts and congressional aides had said they expected Mr Trump to notify Congress that he planned a 30-day extension or to disregard the deadline, with the administration arguing the ceasefire marked an end to the conflict.

The 1973 law allows the president 60 days to wage military action before ending it, seeking authorisation from Congress or asking ‌for a 30-day extension on grounds of "unavoidable military necessity" for the safety of the armed forces.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told ⁠a Senate hearing ‌that he understood that the 60-day clock stopped during the truce.

Opposition Democrats disputed that, saying there was no such legal provision.

The US Constitution says only Congress, not the president, can declare war, but the curb does not apply ⁠for operations the administration casts as short-term or countering an immediate threat.