Leslie Vinjamuri, President & CEO at Chicago Council on Global Affairs, discusses the efficacy of a diplomatic path forward with Iran as strikes across the region continue.
US President Donald Trump threatened Iran with further attacks after the Islamic Republic’s new leader signaled defiance, suggesting there will be no letup in a war that’s upending energy flows and global markets.
“We have unparalleled firepower, unlimited ammunition, and plenty of time,” Trump said on Truth Social. “Watch what happens to these deranged scumbags” on Friday, he said, referring to Iran’s leaders.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday marks the largest attacks against the Islamic Republic, putting the total number of targets hit by the US-Israeli alliance since the beginning of the war at around 15,000.
Yet pressure is building in the US for Trump to end the fighting given the chaos enveloping the Middle East and the surge in oil prices. They have climbed to around $100 a barrel because of Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway.
Trump’s warning came after Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said the Islamic Republic would seek to ensure the strait remains effectively closed. In his first public comments since succeeding his father, he also said Tehran would look to open other fronts in the war, now in its 14th day, if the US and Israel persist with their attacks.
Almost 2,600 people have died in the war, most of them in Iran, the latest tolls from officials and non-government agencies show. The Hormuz waterway — through which around one-fifth of the world’s oil and natural-gas exports flows — has been bought to a near standstill. The mass cancellation of flights has left thousands of passengers stranded in the Middle East.
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