Iran Adviser Says Prolonging War With US Would Show Future Administrations There Is a Cost to Hostile Actions

Mohammad Reza Naghdi, senior adviser to the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, said dragging out the war would show any future US administration that "there is a cost" to hostile endeavours against Iran. "We have to attain deterrence so that the enemy never dares to attack us, so we can live with security, he told PBS NewsHour. His comments came as Iran again rejected Trump's claims that the US has "total control" over the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority said "the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked" and it will not be opened until Iran's conditions are accepted. Trump earlier said that "praise be to Allah", Washington has "total control over the Strait of Hormuz", adding: "I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT! Amid their conflicting claims, data from trade intelligence firm Kpler showed shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was near a three-month low. Just 13 vessels transited the waterway on Tuesday, around 90 per cent below the pre-war daily average.