Iran threatens painful response if US renews attacks
Iranian officials say the country’s forces will respond with “prolonged and painful offensives” if the United States renews attacks, and also that reasserting control over the Strait of Hormuz would complicate U.S. coalition plans to reopen the waterway.
Two months after the US-Israeli war with Iran, the vital sea channel remains closed, choking 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas supplies.
This has led to increased global energy prices and increased concerns about the risks of economic downturn.
Efforts to resolve the conflict have reached a stalemate; A ceasefire has been in place since April 8, but Iran still closes the strait in response to a US naval blockade of Iranian oil exports, the country’s economic lifeblood.
US President Donald Trump is scheduled to receive a briefing on Thursday on plans for a series of new military strikes against Iran to force Iran to negotiate an end to the conflict, a US official told Reuters.
Such options have long been part of U.S. planning, but the proposed briefing reports, first published late Wednesday by news website Axios, initially led to large gains in oil prices, with the benchmark Brent crude contract rising above $126 a barrel at one point.
It later dropped to around $114.
A senior Revolutionary Guard official said any US attack on Iran, even limited, would lead to “prolonged and painful attacks” on US regional positions.
Iranian media quoted Aerospace Forces Commander Majid Mousavi as saying, “We have seen what happened to your regional bases, we will see the same thing happen to your warships.”
Religious Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, in a written message, said that Iran will eliminate “enemies’ abuse of the waterway” under its new management of the strait, and stated that the country intends to maintain its dominance over the strait.
“Strangers coming from thousands of kilometers away have no place there except at the bottom of the waters,” he said.
President @drpezeshkian, in his meeting with the Prime Minister of Japan, condemned attacks on civilians, infrastructure and nuclear sites as violations of international law, saying that insecurity in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz is caused by US-Israeli actions. #Iran #Diplomacy https://t.co/Fn7hx1rvz5 pic.twitter.com/346tETmt2G — Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran (@Iran_GOV) April 30, 2026
Brent prices have doubled since the war began on February 28, fueling inflation and causing oil prices to reach politically painful levels around the world.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that if the disruption caused by the shutdown continues until mid-year, global growth will fall, inflation will rise and tens of millions more people will be pushed into poverty and extreme hunger.
“The longer this vital artery is blocked, the harder it will be to reverse the damage,” he told reporters in New York.
Trump faces an official US deadline on Friday to end the war or sue Congress to extend it. But analysts and congressional aides said they expected him to either notify Congress that he planned a 30-day extension or ignore the deadline.
In addition to blocking almost all ships but its own shipping through the strait, Iran has launched drones and missiles at Israel and US bases, infrastructure and US-linked companies in the Gulf states.
Another plan to be shared with Trump involves using ground forces to seize part of the Strait of Hormuz and reopen it to commercial shipping, Axios said.
Trump is also considering expanding the U.S. blockade of Iran or declaring unilateral victory, officials said.
In a sign that the United States also envisions an end-of-hostilities scenario, the State Department cable invited partner countries to join a new coalition called the Maritime Freedom Structure (MFC) to ensure ships can navigate the strait.
In the telegram, which is expected to be delivered verbally to partner countries by May 1, it was stated that “MFC constitutes a critical first step in establishing the post-conflict maritime security architecture for the Middle East.”
France, Britain and other countries have held talks about contributing to such a coalition but have said they are only willing to help open the strait once the conflict ends.
