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3. Iran Warns Shipping Ahead of Live-Fire Naval Drills Near Strait of Hormuz

Iran has sent out warnings to passing ships of live-fire naval exercises expected to be conducted next week near the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Associated Press.

The Strait of Hormuz is a significant bottleneck in global energy supply chains, seeing 20% of global oil shipments, and would be vulnerable in the event of a conflict with Iran. 

This development is in response to the transfer of a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group “armada” towards the Gulf and increasingly escalatory rhetoric between U.S. and Iranian officials. 

Yesterday, a New York Times report outlined three core demands that the U.S. has for Iran: reach an agreement on the nuclear issue, scale back the size and range of its ballistic missile arsenal, and cut support to its regional proxies.

Trump stated that the U.S. is “ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence” if Iran does not agree to a deal on the nuclear issue. in a Truth Social post.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi characterized the demands as “excessive and unrealistic” and is not willing to pursue diplomacy under direct military pressure.

As countries in the Middle East brace for the possibility of conflict, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have signaled interest in mediating between the U.S. and Iran to de-escalate the situation through dialogue