Iranian oil tankers rush out of Strait of Hormuz - CNN

Iran is rebuilding its missile arsenal and is “getting back to about 50% of the missile stockpiles” it had when the US and Israel launched their war against Tehran 132 days ago, former US national security adviser H.R. McMaster told CBS News.

“This is not anywhere near an end of the war,” McMaster said in an interview with CBS News.

McMaster, who served as national security adviser to President Donald Trump, said that by attacking ships in the Hormuz and US allies in the region this week, Iran was trying “to drive this wedge” between the United States and Persian Gulf states so they can get the Persian Gulf states to “cry uncle, and they can be left in control of the Strait of Hormuz as they reconstitute their missile and drone capabilities.”

“And we think they’re getting back to about 50% of the missile stockpiles that they had at the outset of the war,” McMaster said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned against any further US military “adventurism” on Thursday during a phone call with Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, Iranian state media reported.

Araghchi condemned what he called “aggressive” US attacks on several parts of Iran, saying they amounted to a clear violation of the UN Charter and the Islamabad memorandum of understanding that ended the war.

He also said recent remarks by US officials and what he described as Washington’s admission that it would not abide by the memorandum were signs of “breach of promise” and a continuation of US “warmongering” policies.

Araghchi said Iran and its armed forces were determined to defend the country’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and national security.

US President Donald Trump ordered wider strikes on Iran after US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said he could not guarantee the Revolutionary Guards would stop firing on ships and tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, Israel Hayom reported citing unnamed sources.

Intelligence officials in Israel and the US concluded that the Revolutionary Guards’ leadership believes it can extract further concessions from Washington in the near future, including consent to collect passage fees in Hormuz, the report said.

According to the report, Trump convened senior ministers and advisers before deciding to launch strikes on a larger scale than the previous round, while stopping short of action that would “break the rules.”

An Iranian official said countries astride the Persian Gulf should shut down their oil wells if US attacks on Iran continue, warning they would otherwise be set on fire.

“If the attacks continue, the Persian Gulf countries must shut down their oil wells. Otherwise, we will set them on fire,” Ezzatollah Zarghami, a member of Iran’s Supreme Council of Cyberspace, said on Thursday.

“An attack on Iran will affect all energy and economic equations in the world,” he added.

Repeated water cuts, muddy water and sewage overflow at Sheiban Prison in the southwestern Iranian city of Ahvaz have led to the spread of eye and kidney diseases among political prisoners, sources told Iran International.

Political prisoners held at the facility are facing a severe shortage of sanitary facilities and poor detention conditions, the sources said. In one ward, only one shower and one toilet are available to prisoners, forcing them to wait for hours to use them.

The sources said political prisoners are being held in the same ward as detainees accused of charges including membership in ISIS.

Political prisoner Hojat Al-Mohammad, who is held in the ward, is suffering from serious health problems including kidney disease and severe damage to his teeth but has so far been denied proper medical care, the sources said.