The crisis surrounding the Strait of Hormuz between the United States and Iran remains unresolved, with no immediate signs of a breakthrough.
In the latest developments, Iran on Tuesday threatened the United States with an “economic war” and claimed to have launched an advanced missile at US warships, signaling the possibility of further escalation in the conflict just days after the two sides exchanged strikes again.
اضافة اعلان
The six-month-old conflict has been marked by periods of relative calm followed by waves of escalation. The latest US attacks on Iranian targets were announced Saturday, when US forces targeted three Iranian oil tankers. Iranian state media reported Sunday that Iran had launched a Qassem Basir missile during attacks on several US vessels.
Despite US efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has continued to disrupt shipping through the vital waterway, which is crucial to global oil and gas supplies. The movement of commodity vessels slowed again this week.
Iran has pledged to announce a new exclusion zone in the coming days, along with maps outlining a new shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz. However, the timing of the announcement has not yet been disclosed.
Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, told state television on Sunday that the new exclusion zone would begin where the US blockade of Iran starts and extend into parts of the Gulf. He added that any vessel entering the zone would be placed on Iran’s sanctions list.
Rezaei renewed his economic and military threats in a post on X on Tuesday.
“Washington has received a clear warning in recent days from Iran’s new missiles. Economic war will be met with a maritime exclusion zone stretching across the Persian Gulf to the vicinity of the blockade. The operational posture toward US warships and bases has been radically redefined,” Rezaei said.
Rezaei was apparently referring to the Qassem Basir ballistic missile, which Iranian media said was launched at US warships near the Strait of Hormuz. The US military said its warships had evaded missile attacks.
Qassem Basir Missile
Iran has promoted the Qassem Basir as an advanced missile with improved maneuverability designed to evade missile-defense systems, as well as an effective guidance system capable of operating in electronic warfare environments.
Iran’s Fars News Agency said the missile was first used in combat in June 2025 against Israel.
Some analysts believe Iran’s leverage over the Strait of Hormuz may be weakening as it faces growing difficulty in absorbing new and severe US economic sanctions.
Before the war, around one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments passed through the strait. This gave Iran the ability to threaten tankers belonging to neighboring Gulf states seeking to export oil and gas, contributing to higher energy prices as the conflict intensified.
US President Donald Trump said on social media that oil prices would “drop very sharply” once the war with Iran was won. He predicted gasoline prices could fall to $3 a gallon and eventually to $2, adding that the changes would happen quickly and that Iran would “never have a nuclear weapon.”
