Trump says a major attack on Iran could happen “in a second” if a peace deal is not reached

Iran is “invincible,” the country’s military spokesman Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia declared on Tuesday, threatening to “open new sides” in the war started by the US and Israel if they attack again.

If the US “commits another act of aggression against our beloved Iran, we will open new ways for it using new tools and methods,” Akraminia said in a post shared on social media by the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps, without giving any indication of what tools or methods the Islamic Republic might turn to.

“The enemy’s only option is to respect the Iranian nation and preserve Iran’s legitimate rights,” he said.

Iran has done it threatened several times during the war to increase its attacks on ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz, as well as on Israel and America’s Persian Gulf allies, to target ships in the Red Sea.

Iran’s Houthi allies in Yemen have before he attacked the ships in the Red Sea and surround the Bab el-Mandeb strait, which serves as the southern gateway to the Red Sea as the Strait of Hormuz serves as the gateway to the Persian Gulf.

About 10% of the world’s oil flows through the Bab el-Mandeb strait, which borders Djibouti to the south and Yemen to the north. If you were to successfully block the Strait of Hormuz, the main routes of about 30% of the world’s crude oil would be cut off.

A new “freight corridor” between Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates and Oman has been launched as an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, UAE authorities have announced.

The new route, which opened on May 14, according to the Sharjah Customs Authority, will see trucks carrying goods between the port of Sharjah and the port of Sohar in Oman, bypassing the channel.

The vital shipping lanes of the strait have been severely blocked by Iranian attacks and threats since the US and Israel launched their joint war on Iran at the end of February. This, coupled with the US blockade of Iranian ports, has reduced maritime traffic in the crisis by around 90% according to the British navy – and the gridlock has raised global oil prices by around 40%.

Before the war, about 20 percent of the world’s crude oil, from the nations of the Persian Gulf, used to travel by ship to reach Asia and other places.

The new Sharjah-Oman surface route will mainly handle consumer goods, however, not oil and gas, which require larger vessels. Food, medicine and industrial goods are expected to be among the items shipped through the new tunnel.

Qatar’s government said on Tuesday that talks between the US and Iran, mediated by Pakistan, needed more time to reach an agreement.

“We support Pakistan’s efforts that have shown determination in bringing the parties together and finding a solution, and we believe that it needs more time,” said Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari during a press conference.

He spoke a day after President Trump said he had postponed a planned attack on Iran to give the plan a chance.

He said he did this at the request of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as “there are serious discussions” where the Persian Gulf states believe they can bring an agreement, “which will be very acceptable to the United States of America, and all the countries of the Middle East, and beyond.”

CBS/AFP

Iran’s top diplomat said on Tuesday that any new US attack on the country would be met with a “strong response,” leaving President Trump “disgraced.”

Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesman for Iran’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, said Iran is “prepared for all scenarios,” according to the country’s IRIB TV network.

“The American people must submit to diplomacy and our terms or submit to our missile power,” he added.

Mr. Trump wrote on social media on Monday that he canceled the attack on Iran that was planned to take place on Tuesday after a request from the Persian Gulf allies, saying that there are “serious discussions” about a peace agreement.

The Iranian regime has previously said it has submitted its latest revised terms to the US and is awaiting a response.

Rezaei said on Tuesday that “any new aggression against Iran will be met with a strong response and will further embarrass Trump.”

“The history of the Strait of Hormuz will never return to its previous state, and no force can open it without our consent,” he said.

Iran is holding a mass wedding of at least a thousand couples in Tehran as part of what the state media is calling “Iran’s Sacrifice”.

The couple who agreed to fight for Iran if the country is attacked were celebrated with flowers, flags and balloons on Monday, and were driven around in military vehicles.

In Imam Hossein Square, just one of the event venues in the capital, 110 couples were married.

The Ministry of Health in Lebanon said on Monday that 3,020 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since the beginning of March, during the neighboring country’s war with the Iran-backed Hezbollah. Another 9,273 people were injured, the department said.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Monday he was ready to “do the impossible” to stop the war between Israel and Hezbollah, the US-designated and Israeli-based terrorist group based in his country.

Last week, the agreement brokered by the US between the governments of Israel and Lebanon was extended for another 45 days following the third round of talks in Washington, DC, but Hezbollah rejected both the agreement and the talks, in which it has never been directly involved.

“The framework set for Lebanon in the negotiations includes the withdrawal of Israel, a ceasefire, the deployment of troops to the border, the return of those who have left, and economic aid,” Aoun said on Monday.

Hezbollah continued to attack Israeli forces, occupying a large part of southern Lebanon, and fired rockets into northern Israel, saying it was responding to Israeli attacks. Both sides accused the other daily of violating the ceasefire.

The Israeli army warned many residents in southern Lebanon’s towns to leave their villages on Tuesday ahead of the strikes. Lebanese officials say more than a million people have been displaced by the war.

CBS/AFP

President Trump has warned that a full-scale, large-scale attack on Iran could happen “in a second” if a deal is not reached.

Mr. Trump said on social media not forward on a planned attack on Iran on Tuesday, saying “serious talks” are taking place.

Iran said it was fully focused on the ceasefire deal, but did not discuss any details on nuclear issues, a priority issue for the Trump administration.

President Trump on Monday afternoon said the US “will not” pursue a “planned” attack on Iran on Tuesday, after its Middle East allies asked him to desist. The president made the announcement on Truth Social.

“In their opinion, as the Great Leaders and Allies, an agreement will be made, which will be very acceptable to the United States of America, and all the countries of the Middle East, and beyond,” he wrote. “This Agreement will include, importantly, NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS FOR IRAN!”

He said he told Pentagon leaders that while “we will not carry out a planned attack on Iran tomorrow,” he ordered them “to be prepared to go ahead with a full-scale attack on Iran, at a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable deal is not reached.”

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An Iranian lawyer said the US asked for an end to hostilities and talks between the two countries, not the other way around.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has never asked for talks with the United States during the war,” said Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesman for Iran’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, on Monday, according to Iran’s ISNA news agency.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi, also said on Monday that Iran had sent its latest proposal for a peace deal, but US representatives “have not yet officially responded.”

He said that in order for a peace deal to happen, “there must be an end to war on all fronts, including Lebanon; American troops must withdraw from the region around Iran; the sea blockade must be lifted; sanctions must be lifted; and Iran’s assets must be freed.”