MOSCOW, March 4. /TASS/. Russian oil is currently in demand globally, and Moscow is ready to increase supplies to China and India if there is a corresponding demand from their side, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told reporters.
"[We are] always ready, [Russian] oil is in demand. We will sell [it] if [it] is purchased," he said when asked whether Russia would increase oil supplies to China and India.
On March 2, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC, elite units of the Iranian Armed Forces) threatened to burn any tanker attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz. The statement was made by Brigadier General Ebrahim Jabbari, an adviser to the IRGC commander.
The United States and Israel launched a large-scale military operation against Iran on February 28. Major Iranian cities, including Tehran, were struck. The White House justified the attack by citing alleged missile and nuclear threats from Iran. At the same time, US leadership openly called on the Iranian population to rise up against their government and seize power. As a result of the strikes, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and several other senior figures in the leadership of the Islamic Republic were killed. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a retaliatory operation, targeting sites in Israel. US military bases in Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia were also hit.