DUBAI: Iran has decided to shift its policy from defensive to "fully offensive" due to the deadlock in efforts to agree on a permanent end to its war with the United States, a senior Iranian official said on Monday. Progress towards peace talks and a resumption of oil tanker traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz has ground to a halt, with no sign that the warring parties are moving towards ending the conflict that the US and Israel launched on February 28.
"Iranian entities must be prepared to escalate tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and wider region, as Iran will be ready to make decisions and take action on difficult decisions," the Iranian official said, adding that Tehran would conduct a "timely and precise" military attack to break the US naval blockade if diplomacy failed. Monday marked the day by which Iran and the United States were expected to reach a final deal under a memorandum of understanding agreed in June and aimed at ending the war.
Signed on June 17, the MoU set out a 60-day timeframe, extendable by mutual consent, by which Washington and Tehran should reach an agreement that would cover broader issues such as the fate of Iran's nuclear programme. The MoU, which declared the immediate and permanent cessation of military operations on all fronts, quickly unravelled, however, due to a dispute over control of the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran said point 5 of the MoU gives it the right to manage the waterway, while Washington rejected that interpretation. Hostilities resumed as Tehran began firing on vessels it said were trying to sail through the waterway on an unapproved route. US President Donald Trump said on July 7 that the pact was "over". Tehran has repeatedly accused Washington of consistently violating its commitments. "Within the short period of a few weeks set by Iran, all the agreement's provisions must be implemented by the US. This is a precondition for further negotiations with the U.S.," the Iranian official said, adding that mediators would share Tehran's deadline with Washington and regional states.
Both Iran and the United States have stepped up rhetoric over the past week. Trump warned Americans in a speech at a rally on Friday to prepare for continued high fuel prices as a result of the war, while also saying that "after we finish defeating Iran ... pretty soon I'll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States". Earlier on Monday, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform: "The number one Goal is, and always will be, that Iran cannot have, in any way, shape, or form, a Nuclear Weapon", repeating one of his stated rationales for the war.
Meanwhile, Yemen's Iran-aligned Ansar Allah attacked what they described as a Saudi military ship and four escort vessels in the Red Sea with missiles, according to the group's military spokesperson Yahya Saree on Telegram on Monday. There was no immediate confirmation from Saudi authorities. Mocha is a Red Sea port near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a strategic chokepoint connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and an important international shipping route.
Last Tuesday, the Yemenis attacked a ship in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, Houthi-run news agency Saba reported. Yemen's transport ministry said four crew members were killed in the attack. They imposed a naval blockade in July against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea in response to what they described as a Saudi siege on Yemen, an allegation Riyadh has denied. Two sources in Yemen's internationally recognised government said earlier on Monday that the Ansar Allah groups had attacked a ship in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait with six missiles.
Iran said on Monday that two French embassy employees involved in a diplomatic dispute last month would not be allowed to return to Iran. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the two had violated the Vienna Convention — which defines the rules and privileges of diplomatic missions - engaging in activities supporting Iranian civil society.
"Insisting that these individuals were engaged in activities related to supporting civil society is itself an admission that the Vienna Convention was violated," Baghaei told a weekly press conference, without elaborating. Tehran has long been highly sensitive to what it sees as Western meddling in its internal affairs, especially since the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran in late February in a conflict that continues to rage. — Reuters
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