Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) urged civilians across the Middle East on Friday to stay away from areas near US forces, ramping up its threats despite President Donald Trump’s claim that talks to end the month-long war were “going well”.
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The IRGC’s warning came after Trump again extended a deadline for Tehran to open the Strait of Hormuz or face the destruction of its energy assets, pushing it from Friday to 6 April.
Trump said he did so at Tehran’s request, insisting the Islamic Republic wanted “to make a deal” to end the war engulfing the region since 28 February.
But Tehran, which has made it clear it wants to end fighting on its own terms, indicated no let-up in reprisal attacks against Israel and targets across the Gulf.
“We recommend that you urgently leave locations where American forces are stationed so that no harm comes to you,” the IRGC said — hours after Iran’s military threatened to target hotels housing US soldiers across the region.
The warning came as Kuwait said its main commercial port was damaged in a drone attack at dawn.
The elite IRGC paramilitary, responsible directly to the ayatollah, also said on their Sepah News website that the Strait of Hormuz was “closed” to vessels travelling to and from enemy ports and that it had turned back three ships seeking to cross the transit point.
Holding the global economy hostage
Oil prices and stocks were mixed Friday after Trump again pushed back his ultimatum for Iran to lift its choke on Hormuz shipping, which has sent energy prices soaring and threatens lasting damage to the global economy.
In the latest sign of the fallout, a Japanese official said the government plans to temporarily lift restrictions on coal-fired power plants to face the energy crunch, while Vietnam temporarily waived a fuel tax.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was in France on Friday for talks with his G7 counterparts, with UK Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper calling for a “swift” resolution to the war and an end to Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
“Iran cannot be able to just hold the global economy hostage,” Cooper said ahead of the meeting.
Trump’s reprieve over Hormuz capped days of conflicting signals on peace talks with Tehran, but his special envoy Steve Witkoff spoke Thursday of “strong signs” that it was ready to negotiate.
Negotiations revolve around a 15-point US “action list”, relayed via Pakistan, to which Tehran has reportedly replied — and is awaiting a response.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency said Tehran was demanding war reparations and respect for its “sovereignty” over the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran also called for an end to US and Israeli attacks on Iran as well as on proxy groups in the region, the report said — a reference to Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants, among others.
Local media confirmed fresh strikes in the Iranian capital Friday, as well as the city of Qom further south, and in Urmia in the northwest, after Israel’s military announced “wide-scale” hits on infrastructure in Tehran.
The new attacks came a day after Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid warned the war was taking too high a toll, with the military “stretched to the limit and beyond.”
IDF spokesman Effie Defrin said more combat soldiers were needed to establish a “defensive” buffer zone in southern Lebanon — drawn into the fighting after Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel.
Lebanese state media reported a new airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Friday, while Hezbollah said it had launched rockets at northern Israel, where air raid sirens sent residents to shelters.
