Iran vowed Tuesday it was not seeking a ceasefire despite intensifying US strikes, as explosions rocked Tehran and tensions over the Strait of Hormuz deepened.
The conflict, triggered by the February 28 US-Israeli strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has engulfed the Middle East and rattled global energy markets. Tehran warned that no crude exports would leave the Gulf if bombardments continued.
Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, a former Revolutionary Guards commander, declared: “Certainly we aren’t seeking a ceasefire. We believe the aggressor must be punished and taught a lesson.”
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday marked “our most intense day of strikes inside Iran,” while President Donald Trump threatened unprecedented military consequences if Iran mined the Strait of Hormuz — a vital waterway for a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil and a fifth of LNG shipments.
CNN reported that Iran had begun laying explosives in the strait, prompting Trump to warn on Truth Social: “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.”
AFP journalists reported two rounds of explosions in Tehran, while Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced fresh missile salvos against Israeli cities and US targets, with blasts later heard in Bahrain’s capital, Manama.
The escalating confrontation underscores the risk of a wider regional war, with energy markets and global security hanging in the balance.
