Trump Asks China, France, Others to Send Warships to Reopen Strait of Hormuz

*Iran vows to respond to any attack on its energy facilities 

*Two top intelligence officers in Tehran killed, Isreal reveals

*Guterres demands end to Middle East war, says civilians deserve to live without fear

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

United States President, Mr. Donald Trump, yesterday urged allied nations to deploy warships to reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz, escalating international involvement in the deepening confrontation with Iran.

This is just as Iran threatened yesterday to escalate the war raging in the Middle East by targeting any facility in the region with US ties, after Washington bombed its main energy hub at Kharg Island, which handles 90 per cent of the country’s crude oil exports.

Also, as the war entered its third week, the US embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, was struck by a missile, in the latest sign that the escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran were spilling across the wider Middle East.

The Israeli military said yesterday that it had killed two senior Iranian intelligence officials in a strike in Tehran, just days after they replaced the former head of the directorate who was assassinated on February 28.

Meanwhile, the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, yesterday called on the international community to end the war and intensify support for the Government and people of Lebanon, warning that the south of the country “risks being turned into a wasteland.”

Reports indicated that the projectile landed within or near the heavily fortified diplomatic zone, raising concerns about the safety of diplomatic personnel and the potential for further retaliatory strikes.

In the same vein, global financial markets have continued to retreat sharply as crude oil prices remain above the $ 100-per-barrel mark, reflecting growing investor anxiety over the escalating crisis in the region.

Trump said that many countries would send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open for shipping, but did not provide details on which countries would do so.

“Many Countries, especially those that are affected by Iran’s attempted closure of the Hormuz Strait, will be sending warships, in conjunction with the United States of America, to keep the Strait open and safe,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Trump said he hoped that China, France, Japan, South Korea, Britain, and others would send ships to ⁠the area, a Reuters report said.

“In the meantime, the United States will be bombing the hell out of the shoreline and continually shooting Iranian boats and ships out of the water,” he wrote.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether any countries had agreed to send ships.
Western nations have bolstered their military presence in the eastern Mediterranean during the conflict in Iran, focusing on the security of Cyprus after an Iranian-made drone hit a British military base on the island on March 2.
Britain was also exploring additional options for deployments to the Gulf after Iran stepped up attacks on vessels, defence minister John Healey said on Thursday.

The British government was talking to allies and partners about “a range of options to ensure the security of shipping in the region,” a Ministry of Defence spokesperson said yesterday.

The French Navy was deploying about a dozen naval vessels, including its aircraft carrier strike group, to the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, and potentially the Strait of Hormuz as part of defensive support for allies threatened by the conflict.
France had been consulting with European, Asian, and Gulf Arab states over the past week with a view to putting together a plan to eventually escort tankers through the strait, French officials said.

Iran Vows to Respond to Attack on Energy Facilities

Meanwhile, the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said his country will attack the facilities of US companies in the Middle East if its energy infrastructure is targeted.

“If Iranian facilities are targeted, our forces will target facilities of American companies in the region or companies in which the United States has shares,” he said.
Araghchi also said that while “the Strait of Hormuz is open”, Iran will not allow “the oil tankers and vessels of enemies and their allies” to pass.

US: Kharg Island, Iran’s Oil Hub Obliterated

US forces have carried out “large-scale” strikes on Kharg Island, a critical hub of Iran’s Gulf oil operations. US Central Command said that naval mine storage facilities and missile storage bunkers were among targets destroyed in the “precision strike” on the island, hitting “90 Iranian military targets” while “preserving the oil infrastructure.”

Kharg Island, a tiny but strategic island 15 miles off the coast of Iran in the Persian Gulf, is home to an oil terminal that ships 90 per cent of the country’s oil exports.

There are also military capabilities there, including air defences and mines buried underground.

Two Top Intelligence Officers in Tehran, Isreal Reveals

The Israeli military yesterday said it had killed two senior Iranian intelligence officials in a strike in Tehran, just days after they replaced the former head of the directorate who was assassinated on February 28.

Israel said the two men, identified as Abdollah Jalali-Nasab and Amir Shariat, were senior officials in the intelligence directorate of the Khatam al-Anbiya, the Iranian military’s central operations command.

The pair, it added, were killed on Friday, the Israeli military said.

They had replaced Saleh Asadi, who served as head of the intelligence department at the Khatam al-Anbiya, after he was killed on the first day of the war, the military said.

“Following the elimination of the head of the Intelligence Directorate, Saleh Asadi, during the opening blow of Operation Roaring Lion, Jalali and Shariat were appointed to replace them,” the military said.

“Both were close to the leadership of the Iranian terrorist regime,” it said, adding that the intelligence branch of the Khatam al-Anbiya Emergency Command is responsible for analysing intelligence.

“The intelligence is presented to senior officials in Iran’s security system during frequent situational assessments, on the basis of which the war against the State of Israel is conducted,” the military added.

The military says several top Iranian officials were killed in an initial wave of strikes launched alongside the United States on February 28, including supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

Markets Sink as Crude Oil Stays Above $100

Similarly, global markets fell sharply as oil prices held above $100 a barrel amid the ongoing US-Israeli conflict with Iran, which has closed the Strait of Hormuz and triggered the largest oil supply disruption in history.

Iran Says Strait of Hormuz Still Open But Under Its Control

Navy Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Alir

eza Tangsiri, yesterday said Iran has not yet closed the Strait of Hormuz, and the vital waterway is “only being controlled”.
Tangsiri accused the United States of spreading false claims about destroying Iranian vessels and escorting oil tankers.
“The Americans falsely claimed to have destroyed our ships and escorted oil tankers, and now they are asking for support from others,” said Tangsiri in a post on X.

US Rejects Efforts to Launch Ceasefire Talks

The US has rebuffed efforts by Middle Eastern allies to start diplomatic negotiations aimed at ending the US-Israel war, Reuters cited three sources familiar with the efforts as saying.

Iran, on its part, has rejected the possibility of any ceasefire until US and Israeli strikes end, two senior Iranian sources told the news agency, adding that several countries had been trying to mediate an end to the conflict.

A senior White House official confirmed Trump has rebuffed efforts to start ceasefire talks and is focused on pressing ahead with the war to further weaken Tehran’s military capabilities, according to Reuters.

A third source reportedly said Iran’s top security official, Ali Larijani, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had also sought to use Oman as a conduit for ceasefire discussions that would have involved US Vice President JD Vance. However, those discussions have not materialised.

Iran’s Foreign Minister, Araghchi, has appealed to Gulf neighbours and other Middle East nations to “expel foreign aggressors” as tit-for-tat attacks reverberate throughout the region.

“Touted US security umbrella has proven to be full of holes and inviting rather than deterring trouble,” wrote Araghchi.
“The US is now begging others, even China, to help it make Hormuz safe. Iran calls on brotherly neighbors to expel foreign aggressors, especially as their only concern is Israel,” he added.

Guterres Demands End to Middle East War

Speaking to reporters in the J1

 capital, Beirut, following two weeks of widespread destruction triggered by the US and Israeli bombing of Iran, Guterres noted that Hezbollah rocket fire into Israel in support of Tehran had been followed by a “devastating” Israeli bombing campaign, which is “rendering large portions of Lebanon uninhabitable.”

“The Lebanese people did not choose this war. They were dragged into it,” he continued.

“The war must stop,” the UN chief said, underscoring that there is no military solution to the conflict continuing across the Middle East, only a diplomatic one in line with the UN Charter.