US Iran War: Tensions between Washington and Tehran flared again on Monday after Mohsen Rezaee, senior military adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, dismissed US President Donald Trump’s claim that negotiations were underway to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Rezaee insisted that Iran would recognise no shipping corridor through the strategic waterway other than the one it has designated, and cautioned that American warships attempting an alternate route would be fired upon.
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“We Will Target Them,” Rezaee Warns
Speaking to Iran’s state broadcaster Press TV, Rezaee said Washington had earlier accepted Tehran’s arrangements for the strait under an agreement reached in Islamabad, but later broke that understanding, launching strikes without first pursuing the dispute-resolution mechanism the pact laid out. He pointed to the 17 days of fighting that followed as proof Iran could defend itself. “We will target them,” he said of any US vessels straying from Iran’s approved route.
Trump’s Two-Phase Roadmap
The warning lands just after Trump told reporters at the Oval Office that talks with Tehran were progressing along a two-phase roadmap: first reopening Hormuz to shipping, then addressing Iran’s nuclear programme. Trump suggested movement on the waterway could come as soon as this week.
A Pattern of Enforcement in the Strait
US Iran War: Iran has backed similar threats with action before. In July, its Revolutionary Guard fired on a vessel that had disabled its tracking system and ignored warnings, briefly declaring the strait closed until US operations in the area ceased. Rezaee has previously called Hormuz a key source of leverage for Tehran, and analysts say his latest comments signal Iran is prepared to treat any US-led attempt to open a rival corridor as a direct military challenge.
