Iran’s new strait authority announces ‘controlled maritime zone’ at Hormuz

Tehran mayor Alireza Zakani on Wednesday dismissed the effectiveness of the US-led maritime blockade against Iran and warned that any new attack would be met with retaliation.

“Maritime blockade means nothing. They exaggerate and do not dare attack,” Zakani told Iranian state television.

“They already carried out their maximum measures and saw that we have the upper hand. If they attack, they will get a response. The era of hit-and-run is over,” he added.

Zakani also rejected any suggestion that the Strait of Hormuz could become part of negotiations with Washington.

“The Strait of Hormuz is our right and we should not negotiate about it with the Americans at all,” he said.

An Iranian political prisoner sentenced to death on charges of “espionage and collaboration with a hostile state (Israel)” is at imminent risk of execution after being transferred to solitary confinement, the Norway-based rights Hengaw said on Wednesday.

Gholamreza Khani Shakarab, 34, a former MMA champion, coach and international referee, was moved from a high-security ward in Tehran’s Evin Prison to solitary confinement in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj, Hengaw said.

Hengaw said Judge Abolqasem Salavati of Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced him to death in what it described as a highly opaque judicial process.

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Britain said on Wednesday it had secured a trade deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) worth about $5 billion a year in the long run, deepening economic ties with allies in a region dealing with the fallout from the Iran war.

The GCC includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The British government said the deal would be worth £3.7 billion, or $4.96 billion, each year in the long term, more than double a previous estimate of £1.6 billion.

“At a time of increased instability, today's announcement sends a clear signal of confidence - giving UK exporters the certainty they need to plan ahead,” Britain’s trade minister Peter Kyle said.

US President Donald Trump said Thursday that Washington was dealing with “reasonable people” in negotiations with Iran but insisted there would be no sanctions relief until an agreement is reached.

“We’re dealing with reasonable people,” Trump told reporters, adding that the United States would wait “a few days” for Tehran’s response to the latest proposal exchanged through mediators.

Trump also stressed that “we’re not doing any relief until a deal is reached” and said Washington “has to get the right answer.”

IRGC-linked Tasnim News says Tehran has received the latest proposal from Washington through mediators and is currently reviewing it, but has not yet issued a response.

Citing an informed source, Tasnim said the proposal had been delivered to Tehran through intermediary channels.

Earlier, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Pakistan's interior minister Mohsin Naqvi was in Tehran to facilitate the exchange of messages between Tehran and Washington.