Iranian officials warned the U.S. and Israel of “crushing, broader, and more destructive” attacks following President Donald Trump’s national address, during which he said America is close to achieving its core military objectives but threatened to hit Iran “extremely hard” over the next two to three weeks.
“You must pay the price for the aggression you initiated to the honorable, dear, and Muslim nation,” said Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson for the Iranian military. “You know nothing about our very extensive and strategic capacities.”
The war will continue, he said, until the “permanent regret and surrender” of Iran’s adversaries.
The spokesperson also rejected Trump’s assessment that “Iran has been essentially decimated.” He claimed the targeted facilities have been “insignificant” and insisted the U.S. military cannot reach key production sites.
The warning, shared by the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency, is the latest indication that the Iran war, which is in its 34th day, has no tangible end in sight.
Iran continued strikes across the Persian Gulf Thursday morning, despite Trump’s warning.
The Israeli military also carried outa new wave of strikes across Tehran, targeting IRGC ground forces and missile production facilities.
Esmail Baghaei, spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said Thursday that Tehran has “no choice but to fight back strongly.”
“We will not tolerate this vicious cycle of war, negotiations, cease-fire, and then repeating the same pattern,” he said in a statement reported by state media. “This is catastrophic not only for Iran, but for the entire region and beyond.”
Oil prices soar as war rages on
Following Trump’s speech and the continued trading of strikes, the price of crude oil soared once more Thursday morning, with Brent rising to $108 per barrel.
The Strait of Hormuz, a key passage between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman through which around a fifth of global oil production flows, remains largely blocked.
Iran has used the vital waterway as a political bargaining chip following the initial U.S.-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, and despite Trump’s threats for it to be reopened, very few vessels have been granted safe passage, bringing trade to a virtual standstill.
Trump, during his address on Wednesday, once again took aim at allies who refused to send warships to reopen the Strait.
“To those countries that can’t get fuel—many of which refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran, we had to do it ourselves—I have a suggestion,” he said. “Number one, buy oil from the United States of America; we have plenty. We have so much. And number two, build up some delayed courage… Go to the Strait and just take it. Protect it. Use it for yourselves. Iran has been essentially decimated. The hard part is done.”
Echoing remarks previously made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump said the Strait would likely “just open up naturally” at the close of the war.
In what appeared to be an attempt to reassure Americans amid mounting concerns over U.S. gas topping $4 per gallon, Trump referred to the increase as a “short-term” matter and argued “the United States has never been better prepared economically to confront this threat.”
U.K. hosts Strait of Hormuz talks with around 30 nations
Trump, in an interview published Wednesday, threatened to pull the U.S. out of NATO, after allied nations opted not to actively join the Iran war.
He singled out the U.K., issuing another public rebuke of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has refused, beyond defensive measures, to be an active participant in the conflict.
Starmer defended his position once more during a press briefing, insisting the U.K. won’t be “dragged” into a war and vowing to act in the “British national interest,” despite outside pressures.
Read More: Trump Threatens to Pull U.S. Out of NATO Amid Fallout Over Iran War. Can He Legally Do That?
On Thursday, U.K. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper hosted a virtual coalition of around 30 nations to discuss efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. reportedly did not attend.
TIME has reached out to the U.K. Foreign Office for comment.
Meanwhile, during a state visit to South Korea, French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters it’s “unrealistic” to think the Strait can be reopened by force. Instead, he said, the vital waterway must be secured “in coordination with Iran.”
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