Friday prayer leader says military statements now carry missile-like impact
Tehran's Friday prayer leader said Iran has reached a stage where official military statements can have an impact comparable to precision-guided missiles.
“Previously, when the enemy frowned or moved a warship, the value of our national currency would fall,” Mohammad Javad Haj Ali Akbari said on Friday.
“Today, we have a new equation. There is no longer any need to press the missile launch button. Even when our fighters take up their pens and Khatam al-Anbia Headquarters issues a statement, it sends a tremor through our enemies.”
Iran’s nuclear technology and uranium enrichment are part of the country’s national identity and cannot be negotiated away, Mohammad-Mehdi Hosseini Hamedani, the Friday prayer leader of Karaj said.
“Nuclear technology and enrichment are part of our national identity, just like our territorial integrity, and are not subject to negotiation,” Hosseini Hamedani said on Friday. He also added that any Israeli action would carry consequences for the United States.
"Arab countries should know that if they make a mistake or show negligence, Iran will have no friendships or considerations when it comes to protecting its national interests and its people," he said.
Daily power outages have resumed across parts of Iran, with neighborhoods losing electricity for around two hours a day, citizens told Iran International, adding that blackouts are often imposed between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., when markets are at their busiest.
“The power cuts have started again. Our neighborhood loses electricity for two hours a day, and they often shut it off between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., right when shops are busiest,” one resident told Iran International.
“Business is already suffering from inflation and weak purchasing power. Now the outages are driving customers away and making the situation even worse,” the citizen added.
Oman’s state news agency cited Petroleum Development Oman as saying operations at Mina al Fahal, the country’s main crude oil export terminal, are continuing normally.
The statement came after earlier reports of an explosion near the terminal’s offshore mooring area.
Bloomberg reported Friday morning that operations at Mina al Fahal had resumed after oil loading was temporarily halted.
Reuters earlier reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that the explosion occurred near the terminal’s single-buoy mooring berths and was believed to have been caused by a drone attack.
Omani authorities have not provided further details on the incident, its cause or any impact on crude exports.
Hamidreza Haji-Babaei, deputy speaker of Iran’s parliament, said lawmakers have reviewed a plan to regulate ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and that a “powerful resolution” would be approved on the issue.
Haji-Babaei said the plan has “various dimensions,” without giving details of its provisions.
He also said Tehran had warned the United States and Israel that if their attacks on Lebanon did not end, Iran would respond and close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
More than 50 days into the US blockade of Iran’s southern ports, Iraq’s Umm Qasr has emerged as a new hub for Iran-bound cargo, trade sources say, as Tehran’s first major workaround through Oman’s Khasab grows slower, busier and more expensive.
The Iraqi port is now being used to move some Iran-bound cargo, including cars, after shipments are first transferred from ports in the United Arab Emirates on vessels flying non-Iranian flags, sources with knowledge of the matter Iran International.
The shift adds a new layer to Iran’s effort to keep trade moving through indirect routes after the US blockade, which began on April 13, closed the main passages in the Strait of Hormuz to Iranian ships and vessels linked to the Islamic Republic.
Iran International previously reported that the small Omani port of Khasab, on the Musandam Peninsula near the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz, had become one of the main alternatives for moving goods into Iran.
Cargoes that once moved through standard UAE-Iran channels have been transferred from Emirati ports to Khasab, then loaded onto Iranian vessels bound for ports on Iran’s southern coast.
But trade sources said the route has become slower in recent weeks as demand has risen.
The number of vessels gathering in Khasab has increased, while the port’s limited capacity has made loading and transfers more time-consuming and more expensive than in the first days after the ceasefire, the sources said.
Oman, which had previously imposed limited restrictions or charges on some cargoes, has also introduced new costs for certain goods in recent weeks.
One trade source said some shipments, including cars, are now subject to charges based on the value of the goods.
Against that backdrop, Umm Qasr, Iraq’s main Persian Gulf port, has become a complementary route.
