Iran Attacks Ships In The Strait Of Hormuz, Further Escalating Tensions With The U.S.

Iran has attacked at least three ships going through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, further escalating tensions with the U.S. as questions remain about whether parties will engage in a new round of talks.

Concretely, the Iranian revolutionary guard said it seized “two violating vessels,” which had “endangered maritime security by operating without the required authorization and by tampering with navigation systems.”

The ships in question are called MSC Francesca and Epaminondas. The third one, the Euphoria, was fired on and is now “stranded on Iranian shores,” the body added.

Oil prices are rising as tensions continue to escalate, with the Brent barrel hovering around $100. The West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark for the U.S., stands at $91 a barrel.

President Donald Trump has extended the ceasefire to give Iranian factions the chance to unify positions and decide whether to attend a new round of talks in Pakistan.

A U.S. source briefed on the matter told Axios “Trump is willing to give another three to five days of ceasefire to allow the Iranians to get their sh-t together.”

“We saw that there is an absolute fracture inside Iran between the negotiators and the military — with neither side having access to the supreme leader, who is not responsive,” the official added, in reference to Mojtaba Khamenei, who appears to be barely communicating.

Iranian officials acknowledged the extension of the ceasefire, but Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei the country has not made a decision on whether to continue negotiations.

“Diplomacy is a tool for securing national interests and security, and whenever we reach the conclusion that the necessary and reasonable conditions exist to use this tool to achieve national interests and to consolidate the achievements of the Iranian nation in thwarting the enemies’ malicious objectives, we will take action,” he said, according to the Associated Press.

At the same time, the country’s ambassador to the United Nations said a new round of talks could take place if the U.S. ends its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump, on his end, doesn’t appear to be leaning towards lifting it. In a social media publication, he said “Iran doesn’t want the Strait of Hormuz closed, they want it open so they can make $500 Million Dollars a day (which is, therefore, what they are losing if it is closed!).”

“They only say they want it closed because I have it totally BLOCKADED (CLOSED!), so they merely want to “save face.” People approached me four days ago, saying, “Sir, Iran wants to open up the Strait, immediately.” But if we do that, there can never be a Deal with Iran, unless we blow up the rest of their Country, their leaders included!” he added.