Late night, diving in! Strait of Hormuz, major uncertainty! Trump, latest threat!

Tonight, a major development comes from the Strait of Hormuz!

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Baghaei said on the 30th that, over the past few days, some vessels had passed through the Strait of Hormuz after coordinating with relevant departments on Iran’s side. Baghaei emphasized that addressing the problem of blocked passage through the Strait of Hormuz lies in facing up to the true root cause that has led to this situation.

According to CCTV’s International News, Aladin. Broujerdi, a member of Iran’s parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, told the media today (March 30) that Iran plans to charge ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, and after parliamentary approval, the Iranian government will begin implementation. Broujerdi said that countries including Turkey, Egypt, and Panama would charge ships for passage: “This is an international practice,” and that Iran has “provided preferential terms” for transit ships for decades.

Xinhua News Agency reported that on the 30th, U.S. Secretary of State Rubio said that the U.S. will not allow Iran to permanently control the Strait of Hormuz or establish a fee-collection system, etc.

According to the latest update, U.S. Treasury Secretary Besant said that the shortfall in the oil market’s supply is in the range of 10 million to 12 million barrels per day. Seeing more and more vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz, and with many countries reaching agreements with Iran, more supply is being seen.

In the evening of March 30 Beijing time, the three major U.S. stock indexes opened higher and then fell. During the day, there was a sell-off wave; the Nasdaq fell back, giving back its prior 0.9% gain. As of the time of publication, the Nasdaq was down 0.25%; the Dow was up 0.43%, after having risen by more than 1% at one point; the S&P 500 was up 0.06%, after having risen by more than 0.90% at one point. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunged 3%; Micron Technology, Microware? (Mawier Technology), and Lam Research fell by more than 5%; GDS? and Ketan Semiconductor fell by more than 4%; Applied Materials, ASML, Intel, ARM, and others fell by more than 3%. Market analysts noted that international oil prices continued to rise on Monday, once again triggering investors’ concerns about inflation, and technology growth stocks will continue to face pressure.

Iran: Some vessels pass through the Strait of Hormuz

According to CCTV News, on March 30 local time, in responding to questions about European concerns over rising fuel prices and rising Gulf shipping costs, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Baghaei said that Iran is not responsible for the current situation and does not want people in other countries to bear pressure because of rising fuel or food prices.

Baghaei said that before the recent escalation of the situation, the Strait of Hormuz had not been closed, and Iran has long been providing security guarantees for shipping in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. He pointed out that the current situation stems from the military actions of the United States and Israel. In wartime conditions, no coastal country would allow “enemy vessels” to pass normally through relevant waters, because these vessels could be used to carry out hostile actions.

Baghaei also said that currently, while ensuring security, Iran is managing passage of vessels that are not from the hostile side. Over the past few days, some vessels have passed through the Strait of Hormuz after coordinating with relevant departments on Iran’s side. Baghaei emphasized that solving the issue of blocked passage through the Strait of Hormuz depends on confronting the true root cause that has led to this situation.

According to Xinhua News Agency, on the 30th, U.S. Secretary of State Rubio said it was absolutely not allowed for Iran to permanently control the Strait of Hormuz or establish a fee-collection system, etc. In an interview with ABC’s “Good Morning, America” on the same day, Rubio said the U.S. aims to achieve Iran’s military action objectives “within weeks rather than months.” He said: “Trump prefers diplomatic routes. These efforts at negotiations are still in the early stages. Some negotiations are taking place, including through intermediaries.” Rubio said: “But we also have to be prepared for the possibility that the negotiations fail. Iran is issuing threats—to permanently control the Strait of Hormuz and set up a fee-collection system, etc. This absolutely cannot happen.”

On March 30 local time, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a statement saying that during Round 87 of “True Promise-4,” Iran carried out strikes against military targets in multiple places.

The statement said that this round used multi-type ballistic missiles and drones, including “Imad,” “Ghiam,” “Khoramshahr-4,” etc., to strike multiple command-and-control centers, drone facilities, and weapon support-related targets. The relevant targets are distributed across multiple locations in the region, including five U.S. military bases, as well as Israel’s southern, central, and northern regions.

On March 30 local time, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Baghaei, at a regular press conference, said that the actions Iran has taken fall under self-defense and are not aimed at regional countries. He called on relevant parties to distinguish them and emphasized that Iran’s actions should not be viewed as hostile actions against any country. At the same time, he said he hopes neighboring countries will comply with their obligations under international law, moral responsibilities, and the principle of good-neighborliness, and will not allow their territories and facilities to be used by the United States and Israel to carry out attacks against neighboring countries.

Trump’s major warning

According to CCTV News, on March 30 local time, U.S. President Trump posted on a social media platform saying that the U.S. is conducting serious consultations with Iran in order to end the military actions in Iran.

Trump said, “We’ve made significant progress, but if for any reason we can’t reach an agreement in the short term—though it’s very likely that we will, and if the Strait of Hormuz is not immediately restored to normal navigation—we will destroy and completely demolish all of Iran’s power plants, oil wells, and Halk Island. It may also include all seawater desalination plants.”

On March 30 local time, Gasanfar? (Gazanfari), chairman of the executive committee of Iran’s National Development Fund, said that Iran’s power plants are dispersed and numerous, reducing the possibility of a complete nationwide blackout. Gazanfari said that if Iran’s power generation facilities are targeted, Iran would bring the entire region into a state of power outage, and said that Iran’s armed forces have the capability to do so.

Gazanfari also said that countries supporting U.S. and Israeli actions “sooner or later will need to pay a price for it,” which could be reflected in damage to their own homeland or in future obligations to compensate for losses suffered by Iran. Gazanfari said that once the conflict affects energy facilities, the main parties that may suffer the damage could be those countries that provide military bases to the United States. In such a case, these countries may ultimately push for a ceasefire.

The day before, on March 29 local time, Trump said that indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran conducted through a “middleman,” Pakistan, “are progressing smoothly,” and that Iran has agreed to “most” of the “15-point plan” for a ceasefire. Trump admitted that what he most wants to do is “to seize Iran’s oil,” and he did not rule out occupying Halk Island, the hub for Iran’s oil exports.

On March 30 local time, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Baghaei said that there had been no direct dialogue with the United States, and information was only conveyed through a third party. Baghaei said that Iran, through intermediary channels including Pakistan, received messages from the U.S. that it wanted to conduct negotiations.

Baghaei emphasized that as of now, there have been no direct negotiations between Iran and the United States. Regarding the U.S. government’s so-called “15-point plan,” Baghaei said that most of the contents involve “extremely greedy, unrealistic, and illogical” demands. He said that the international community has very little trust in the U.S.’s statements in the diplomatic sphere; the U.S. stance has been inconsistent, full of contradictions and resistance.

Regarding the relevant meetings held by Pakistan and neighboring countries, Baghaei clearly stated that Iran was not involved in that framework.

Baghaei reiterated that current tensions in the region are not initiated by Iran. Iran has been attacked twice during the diplomatic process. Baghaei pointed out that Iran, as a responsible regional participant, has consistently adhered to a diplomatic path, while the U.S. has twice sabotaged the negotiation process.

Baghaei concluded by saying that Iran is confident in its position and clearly knows its demands and its unacceptable bottom lines. Once the relevant matters are settled, Iran will announce them in an appropriate manner.

Typography: Wang Yunpeng

Proofreading: Ran Yanqing