The China Mail - Iran not seeking ceasefire as Trump steps up threats

The conflict has engulfed the Middle East and roiled energy markets since the February 28 US-Israeli strikes that killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and triggered the war, with Tehran on Tuesday vowing no crude exports would leave the Gulf if the bombardment continued.

The Pentagon had earlier announced its most intense strikes to date, but Iran has so far refused to bow to the pressure.

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, a former top Revolutionary Guards commander and key figure after Khamenei's killing, said in an English-language post on X: "Certainly we aren't seeking a ceasefire."

"We believe the aggressor must be punished and taught a lesson that will deter them from attacking Iran again," he added.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had previously told a news conference that Tuesday would "be yet again our most intense day of strikes inside Iran -- the most fighters, the most bombers".

Iranian attacks on shipping have closed the strategic Strait of Hormuz, where a quarter of the world's seaborne oil and a fifth of all LNG normally pass, and Trump warned Iran against mining the strait in a post on his Truth Social platform.

"If for any reason mines were placed, and they are not removed forthwith, the military consequences to Iran will be at a level never seen before," he wrote.

His post came after CNN -- citing anonymous sources familiar with US intelligence reports -- reported that Iran had indeed begun laying explosives in the waterway.

Two rounds of explosions shook Tehran on Tuesday evening, AFP journalists reported, with no immediate information available about the intended targets.

In the capital, one woman in her forties said she found some reassurance in her impression that the bombings "don't target ordinary buildings".

But she noted that it was "the noise of the bombings that is extremely disturbing".

Iran's Revolutionary Guards replied by announcing a fresh salvo of missiles against Israeli cities and US targets in the region, with AFP journalists later hearing explosions in Bahrain's capital Manama.

About 140 US military personnel have been wounded since the start of the war, the majority with minor injuries, the Pentagon said on Tuesday. Seven deaths have already been announced.

- 'Catastrophic consequences' -

Volatile oil prices again veered sharply on Tuesday, sliding after US Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced the navy had escorted a tanker through the Strait of Hormuz.

However, Wright deleted the social media post announcing the operation moments later, and the White House subsequently said no escort had taken place.

Oil prices had surged following the Iranian attacks, strikes on oil depots in Iran and attacks on energy infrastructure in wealthy Gulf countries, previously seen as safe havens in a turbulent Middle East.

The UAE's biggest oil refinery at Ruwais was closed on Tuesday as a precaution after a drone attack on the industrial complex that houses it caused a fire, a source familiar with the situation told AFP.

A driver working at the complex, who requested not to be named, told AFP they saw "bursts of fire rising from the complex, with loud sounds like explosions".

Qatar, where a suspension of LNG exports has sent European energy prices sky-high, said Iranian attacks on its civilian infrastructure were ongoing, with AFP journalists reporting explosions in Doha.

"There would be catastrophic consequences for the world's oil markets the longer the disruption goes on, and the more drastic the consequences for the global economy," Saudi oil giant Aramco's president and CEO Amin H. Nasser told journalists.

"It's absolutely critical that shipping resumes in the Strait of Hormuz."

- 'Barely getting by' -

The UN trade and development agency warned the Hormuz closure could increase the cost of essentials such as fuel and food for the world's most vulnerable people.

In Egypt, which increased the cost of fuels by up to 30 percent, mother-of-six Om Mohamed fretted about the future.

"We were barely getting by as it is. I don't know how people will manage," she told AFP at a Cairo market.

Experts warned the economic outlook remains extremely volatile.

"Rare are days in the markets when you get this much volatility," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, an analyst for Swissquote Bank, warning that investors were overreacting to every bit of news, even when officials' statements contradicted each other.

"The conflict in the Middle East continues at full speed, political developments are not pointing to a near-term resolution, and there is little clarity about the US plans."

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I.Ko--ThChM