“Expect the closure of the Mediterranean Sea soon Strait of Gibraltar and of other waterways”reports the Tasnim agency – relaunched by Reuters – quoting the brigadier general Mohammad Reza Naqdi, coordinating commander of the Guards. Iran itself has no direct access to the Mediterranean and it is unclear how the Revolutionary Guards might attempt to close it, although Naqdi spoke of “the rise of new resistance powers and the closure of other waterways.” “Yesterday the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz became a nightmare for them, and today they are trapped in the Red Sea,” Naqdi said.
He also took the field there Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who called on Muslim countries to prevent the delivery of fuel and other products to Israel, which – in his words – “prevents the entry of water into the Gaza Strip”.
“Muslim nations should ask their regimes to stop assistance to Israel and sever ties,” Khamenei said, at a meeting with citizens of Khuzestan and Kerman provinces in Tehran.
THE presidents of Egypt and Iran they discussed recent developments in Gaza and the prospect of restore diplomatic relations between the two countries in what Iranian state television said was theirs first phone call.
The Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi he called his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The two leaders met for the first time in November on the sidelines of the extraordinary joint Arab-Islamic summit in Riyadh.
“Raisi said that Iran is ready to provide all its capabilities for stop the genocide of the Zionist regime and send aid to the Palestinians,” state media reported. Relations between Egypt and Iran have generally been tense in recent decades, although the two countries have maintained some diplomatic contacts. Their call follows other initiatives taken by governments in the region in recent months to ease the tension.
And this morning Iran launched a drone attack on a merchant ship in the Arabian Sea off the coast of India, this was announced by the US Department of Defense. The Liberian-flagged chemical and oil tanker MV Chem Pluto was hit by an attack drone from Iran around 10:00 am (0600 GMT), the Pentagon said. The attack caused a fire which was put out. There were no fatalities or injuries in the crash, the Pentagon statement added.
No US Navy ships were nearby at the time of the attack. The tanker continued its journey to India. According to Indian and US reports, the accident occurred about 200 nautical miles off the coast of India. India's Defense Ministry said the vessel was carrying crude oil and was on its way from Saudi Arabia to the southern Indian city of Mangaluru.
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