The conflict in Iran lengthens the shadow of the nuclear disaster over the Gulf. The Israeli-American raids fell dangerously close to the Iranian nuclear power plant in Bushehr, causing one death and increasing fears of a possible chain reaction about which Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned: «Any radiation would not only destroy Tehran, but also the capitals of the countries of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council», warned the head of Iranian diplomacy.
The director of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, expressed “deep concern” over what he called the fourth attack of this type in recent weeks, recalling that “power plant sites must never be attacked”. While Moscow has started the evacuation of 198 workers from the plant, describing the attack that grazed the plant in the south-west of the country as “cowardly”. The nuclear risk is a theme that adds to a crisis that does not seem to find a solution, in particular on the Strait of Hormuz where the signals remain contradictory.
In fact, if the Turkish Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu announced that a second Ankara ship managed to pass the strait – fueling the signs of a possible easing of what is in fact a blockade in force since March 1st – on the other hand the Pasdaran claimed to have struck a container ship, the MSC Ishyka, with drones, accusing it of being “linked to Israel”.
Iran’s joint military command Khatam al-Anbiya later announced that Iraq would be exempt from any restrictions on transit through Hormuz. And according to the Tasnim agency, Tehran has also granted authorization for the transit of ships carrying “essential goods” through the strait.
But whatever these goods are, everything remains to be clarified, while the cryptic message seems to exclude international traffic in any case, limiting the passage to ships destined for Iranian ports and present in the Sea of Oman, therefore entering the Persian Gulf.
Meanwhile, the diplomatic effort for maritime traffic within the UN seems to have stalled, with the vote in the Security Council on the resolution presented in Bahrain postponed again. A sign that the latest draft of the text, although heavily watered down compared to previous versions, does not yet find favor with all the permanent members of the Council, in particular Russia and China. Time is running out according to Donald Trump, who recalling his ultimatum last week gave the Tehran regime 48 hours to make an agreement or reopen Hormuz, otherwise it will be “hell”. THE
It is impossible to say what the true climate is in the halls of Iranian power in the face of the tycoon’s threats, but the regime continues to leverage economic tensions: the leader of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, has also expressed veiled threats to the Strait of Bab el-Mandab, an important global logistical point that connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, and through which 14% of global commercial shipments pass.
Bombs continued to fall in Tehran and southern Iran, where the IDF claimed to have hit plants in the Special Petrochemical Zone of Mahshahr, in Khuzestan province. In response, the Islamic Republic’s raids caused extensive damage and injured at least six people in central Israel, where a bomb fell in the parking lot of the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv.
The Israeli offensive also continues in Lebanon where, according to the Beirut government, it has so far caused over 1,400 deaths. According to the Ministry of Health, 11 people were injured in an attack that hit a hospital in Tyre, while the IDF reported that one of its soldiers died in southern Lebanon, bringing to 11 the number of Israeli soldiers killed since the resumption of hostilities.