MOSCOW, March 3. /TASS/. Iranian Brigadier General Ebrahim Jabbari, an adviser to the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC, elite units of the Iranian Armed Forces), vowed to "burn" any tanker that tries to transit the Strait of Hormuz.
The US is not currently planning a ground operation in Tehran, but President Donald Trump is not ruling out this course of action to achieve the set objectives, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
TASS has compiled the key developments regarding the situation in the region.
The situation around the Strait of Hormuz
- Iranian Brigadier General Ebrahim Jabbari has vowed to "burn" any tanker that tries to transit the Strait of Hormuz.
- He emphasized that Tehran would not allow "a single drop of oil to leave the region."
- The Strait of Hormuz connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and, further on, the Indian Ocean.
- Approximately one-fifth of the world's total oil exports pass through it.
- Up to 80% of this volume goes to Asian countries, including India, China, and Japan. Japan, for instance, receives roughly 90% of its required oil from the Middle East.
- The US Central Command (CENTCOM) states that the Strait of Hormuz remains open to civilian navigation, reported Fox News Channel journalist Jennifer Griffin on the social media platform X.
- Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi raised the issue of ensuring navigational safety in the Strait of Hormuz with the Iranian ambassador in Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said.
- A blockade of oil supplies from the Middle East amid US and Israeli strikes on Iran would lead to a 3% decrease in Japan's gross domestic product (GDP), Yuki Togano, an expert at the Japan Research Institute, said in an interview with the national public broadcaster NHK.
- According to him, such a reduction in the country's GDP would be possible in the event of a prolonged blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, as well as oil supplies through the Red Sea.
- A surge in oil prices to $140 per barrel, mirroring the 2008 global economic crisis, would alone reduce Japan's GDP by 0.65%, according to experts at the leading Japanese securities firm Nomura Securities' Institute for Comprehensive Studies.
- Marine insurance costs in the Strait of Hormuz could surge 50-100% if blocked, according to NBC News, citing the brokerage firms Marsh and McGill and Partners.
- Passage disruptions and crew safety threats could trigger policy cancellations and a 50-100% jump in new coverage costs, they added.
The election of a new supreme leader of Iran
- The selection of a successor for Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US-Israeli strikes, will not take time, said Ayatollah Ali Moalemi, a member of the Islamic Republic's Assembly of Experts.
Statements from the US side
- US President Donald Trump asserts that Tehran could have obtained nuclear weapons in 2023 had he not taken the initiative to withdraw from the agreement on the Iranian nuclear program (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action).
- In his view, Iran would have achieved nuclear weapons capability three years ago without the deal's termination.
- The US has no immediate plans for a ground operation in Iran, though Trump hasn't ruled it out to achieve its goals, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
- According to him, the US-Israeli operation is aimed at eliminating the missile and naval threat from Iran.
- The US military campaign against Iran will continue until its goals are achieved, Rubio said.
- He noted that the US has developed a set of measures to try to stop the rise in oil prices on global markets caused by the US-Israeli operation against Iran.
- According to him, the next phase of the operation will be even more intense for Iran.
Statements from the Iranian side
- US military personnel located in hotels in regional countries will be legitimate targets for attack by Iran, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.
- According to him, the US is participating in the conflict in the Middle East "on behalf of Israel."
- Before the conflict began, there was no "Iranian threat," the foreign minister noted, adding that Tehran had issued no threats against the United States.