Live updates: Follow the latest news on Iran war
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday warned Iran it needed to get its "act together", hours after Tehran said it has the right to take “necessary and proportionate measures” in the Strait of Hormuz.
"Iran can't get their act together. They don't know how to sign a non-nuclear deal," Mr Trump said in a Truth Social post alongside an edited photo of himself holding an automatic rifle, leaving behind explosions, with a caption reading "no more Mr nice guy."
The US has been reviewing an Iranian proposal, but according to American outlets, Mr Trump has been disappointed by the fact that it does not address Iran's nuclear programme."They better get smart soon!" the post added.
His warning comes amid growing international criticism of Iran’s effective closure of the strait following US and Israeli strikes in late February, which triggered a wider regional conflict.
The narrow waterway, which handles roughly a fifth of global oil and gas shipments, has become a central flashpoint in negotiations over ending the conflict and curbing Iran’s nuclear programme. The shutdown of the strait has sent shock waves through the global economy.
Navigation through the strait is governed by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which grants all ships and aircraft an unrestricted right of “transit passage”. According to the convention, “transit passage” through international straits cannot be blocked or denied by bordering nations, such as Iran.
On Tuesday, Iran's UN mission said Tehran was “not a party” to the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and was therefore not bound by its provisions.
“As the main coastal state within whose territorial sea the Strait of Hormuz lies, Iran has the legitimate and legal right to take necessary and proportionate measures to address emerging security threats, ensure safe navigation and prevent the misuse of the Strait of Hormuz for hostile or military purposes,” the mission said in a statement posted on X.
Meanwhile, the US signalled it would stick with a naval blockade of Iranian ports, as it tries to choke-off Tehran’s oil exports and force it back to the negotiating table.
US President Donald Trump claimed on Tuesday that Iran was in a “state of collapse.” His treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, later said Washington’s “maximum pressure campaign” had caused Iran’s inflation to accelerate and that the country was running out of oil storage. It would soon have to start cutting production, Mr Bessent said.
The blockade lies at the heart of the impasse between the US and Iran, with Tehran insisting it won’t restart negotiations or reopen the Strait of Hormuz as long as the naval restrictions stay in place. Mr Trump says he won’t halt the operation until Iran agrees on a peace deal to end the war.
Mr Trump has told his aides to prepare for an extended blockade, and that it carries less of a risk for the US than resuming hostilities or walking away from the conflict without a deal that curbs Iran’s nuclear activities, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed American officials.
In Iran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy’s deputy for Political Affairs says that the force’s “surprise tactics” await the US in case of any "fresh miscalculation". Mohammad Akbarzadeh said the navy would "employ its new cards, including in the field of smart targeting, and will set the massive vessels of the criminal regime ablaze".
