Iran’s newly appointed Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Razaei, warns that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the U.S. agrees to Iranian demands, including a ceasefire in Lebanon and Gaza.
Security Chief Demands Region-wide Ceasefire
In a post on X, Razaei, who is a close advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, said that the “message is clear” from Iran that the Strait of Hormuz will reopen when the “U.S. ends the war and blockade,” as well as “releases Iran’s frozen assets,” and agrees to a “region-wide ceasefire, in Lebanon and Gaza.”
Razaei then said that “until all conditions are met, the Strait will remain closed.” Some of Rezaei’s demands echo provisions contained in the June U.S.-Iran memorandum, including ending military operations and making Iran’s frozen assets available.
Uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz has caused volatility in the global oil markets. At press time, both the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude and the Brent crude surged to $83.90/bbl and $87.77/bbl, respectively. The United States Oil Fund (NYSE:USO), an oil ETF, also surged 0.42% to $128.15 during overnight trading on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, data from the American Automobile Association showed that the national average price for a gallon of gas grew to $4.0116 on Tuesday. However, prices in states like Texas, Indiana, Louisiana and more hovered around the $3.5/gallon mark on average.
UKMTO Reports Incident in Red Sea
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center (UKMTO) reported an incident on Tuesday off the coast of Al Mokha, Yemen, which resulted in casualties after a vessel was hit by an unknown projectile, the agency said in its update. It advised ships to exercise caution.
According to a report by Al Jazeera on Wednesday, citing statements by Yemen’s internationally recognized government, the incident resulted in the deaths of six individuals in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait following an alleged double-tap strike by the Houthis. The incident also injured 10 individuals.
The incident marks the first shipping deaths linked to the Houthis since the U.S.-Israel and Iran war began in February this year, the report said.
Trump’s Plane Switch
President Donald Trump, during his visit to the NATO summit in July in Turkey, reportedly switched planes, abandoning the legacy Air Force One aircraft to fly to England on a U.S. military plane instead due to a credible Iranian threat, according to senior U.S. officials.
Trump had earlier said that he remains a priority target for Iran. On the other hand, the President also pushed back against Iran, saying that the U.S. maintained control over the Strait of Hormuz and that it was open.
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