Iranian President: The US blockade will definitely fail

“Any attempt to impose a blockade or maritime restriction is contrary to international law and will certainly fail,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a statement today. He warned that such blockade measures do not help improve regional security, but are in fact “a source of tension and disruption of long-term stability in the Persian Gulf”.

Mohsen Rezaei, military advisor to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, previously announced that Iran would “not tolerate” the US maritime blockade and was ready to respond if this measure continued.

He mentioned the risk of a resurgence of conflict, saying it could cause heavy losses for Washington. “If the US starts a new war, they should expect that we will capture a large number of prisoners of war,” adviser Rezaei said.

Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said the US “will not get any results” from the blockade. “Iran’s oil and gas industry employees are working around the clock to ensure that there are no problems in service delivery,” he said.

The statements are made after the page Axios Citing unnamed US officials, the country’s military leadership plans to present to President Donald Trump military measures that can be taken against Iran.

The US imposed a blockade on Iranian seaports from April 13, a few days after the first round of negotiations between the two countries ended without results. The move is said to be intended to pressure Tehran to accept the terms of the agreement offered by Washington.

President Trump warned that the US blockade could last for many months, arguing that this measure is more effective than the campaign to attack Iran. Central Command (CENTCOM), the agency in charge of US military operations in the Middle East, said on April 29 that its forces forced 42 commercial ships to turn around in the Strait of Hormuz.

According to the Wall Street Journal, extending the blockade shows that Mr. Trump no longer has many effective solutions with Iran. Unilaterally ending the fighting could provide a quick exit from the conflict and help relieve pressure on the US and global economies. Iran’s proposals, however, allow Tehran to shape the conditions of that exit.

The lack of a clear and decisive roadmap has led some US officials to believe that the end of the Middle East conflict will most likely be that the two sides do not reach a nuclear agreement, but also will not continue hostilities.