Hopes of de-escalation in the latest war to engulf the Middle East appeared to fade on Thursday, with the United States sending more combat forces for potential deployment on the ground in Iran and Tehran moving to formalize its control over the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s parliament is working on a draft bill to charge a fee in return for securing the passage of ships through the strait, according to the semi-official Fars news agency, citing an unnamed lawmaker who added that the plan was expected to be finalized next week.
“We are pursuing a proposal in which Iran’s sovereignty, control and oversight in the Strait of Hormuz are formally recognized in law, and through the collection of tolls, a new revenue stream will also be created for the country,” Fars cited the lawmaker as saying.
In an interview with state television on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi insisted that the strait was “closed only to enemies”, adding that Tehran’s armed forces had already “provided safe passage” for ships from friendly nations.
Since the US and Israel began the war on Feb 28, oil prices have skyrocketed, sparking growing fears of a global energy crisis. Brent crude, the international benchmark, traded at $104 early on Thursday, up more than 40 percent since the war began.
Meanwhile, a US strike group carrying some 2,500 Marines, led by the amphibious assault ship the USS Tripoli, has drawn closer to the Middle East, while at least 1,000 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division have also been ordered to the region.
US Navy Admiral Brad Cooper, who commands the US military in the region, claimed that his forces have hit more than 10,000 targets since hostilities commenced, destroying 92 percent of Iran’s largest ships and more than two-thirds of the country’s missile, drone and naval production facilities.
“We’re not done yet,” Cooper said in a video message.
“We are on track to fully dismantle Iran’s broader military capabilities.”
On Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a new demand that Iran accept defeat or face more intense strikes, even as Washington had presented a 15-point ceasefire proposal to Tehran.
“If Iran fails to accept the reality of the current moment, if they fail to understand that they have been defeated militarily and will continue to be, President Trump will ensure they are hit harder than they have ever been hit before,” she said.
However, foreign minister Araghchi said the same day that his government has not engaged in talks to end the war, “nor do we intend to hold any negotiations”.
The speaker of Iran’s parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also warned on Wednesday that intelligence reports suggest that “Iran’s enemies” are planning to occupy an Iranian island with backing from an unnamed country in the region.
“Our forces are monitoring all enemy movements, and if they take any step, all vital infrastructure of that regional state will be targeted with continuous, relentless attacks,” he said in a post on X.
Iran has also hinted it could open a new military front on the Red Sea if the US takes “foolish actions”, such as landing ground troops.
Military sources, meanwhile, told Tasnim News Agency that US forces “should be careful not to add another strait to their problems and dilemmas”.
“The Bab Al Mandeb Strait is considered one of the world’s strategic straits, and Iran has both the will and the capability to produce a fully credible threat against it,” one of the sources said in reference to the entrance to the Red Sea.
Fearing that the US could declare an abrupt ceasefire, Israel has been ramping up its military campaign against Iran, with Israeli media reporting on Thursday that Alireza Tangsiri, commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy, was targeted in Bandar Abbas. An official claimed that Tangsiri was the official overseeing potential closures of the Strait of Hormuz.
Early on Thursday morning, air raid sirens blared in parts of Tel Aviv and cities in central Israel.
In the United Arab Emirates, sirens sounded once again in the capital Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Two people were killed and three others injured in Abu Dhabi after debris fell from a successfully intercepted missile, authorities said.
Across the region, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait all reported drone or missile attacks on Thursday.