Trump warns Iran to act fast or face severe consequences
President Donald Trump issued another warning to Iran on Sunday, telling the country it needs to act quickly or face serious trouble.
“For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!”
The two countries have been struggling to reach an agreement since they stopped fighting in early April.
Such a warning has been given before as well when Trump threatened a “whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again”. The warning was aimed at civilian targets like power plants and bridges going against the international war laws.
This time, Trump didn’t say exactly what would happen or what Iran needs to do to avoid these consequences.
The blocked strait has caused big problems for the world economy. Oil prices have jumped up everywhere, and Americans are paying more at gas stations. On Sunday, the average gas price across the country was $4.51 per gallon, according to AAA.
America wants Iran to stop its nuclear weapons work and open the Strait back up. Iran wants money to fix war damage, an end to the port blockade, and all fighting to stop, including battles in Lebanon.
Iran has found a new way to put pressure on the world
The country is looking at the underwater cables that run beneath the Strait of Hormuz. These cables carry internet data and financial information between Europe, Asia, and countries around the Persian Gulf.
Iran wants big technology companies to pay for using these cables. Some government-connected media in Iran have hinted that the cables could be damaged if companies refuse to pay. Iranian lawmakers talked about this plan last week. It would affect cables connecting Arab nations to Europe and Asia.
“We will impose fees on internet cables,” said Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesperson for Iran’s military, in a post on X last week.
Media connected to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the plan would make companies like Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon follow Iranian rules. Cable companies would have to pay fees to use the route, and only Iranian companies could fix or maintain the cables.
Some of these technology companies have put money into cables that go through the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf areas. It’s not clear if these cables actually pass through waters that Iran controls.
There’s also a question of how Iran could make these companies pay. American sanctions don’t allow payments to Iran, so the tech companies might think Iran is just making empty threats.
Still, Iranian media have warned that damage to the cables could hurt trillions of dollars worth of global data and mess up internet connections worldwide.
The strait connects Asian technology centers like Singapore to cable stations in Europe. Problems there could slow down financial trading between Europe and Asia. Parts of East Africa might lose internet completely.
Trump says Xi agrees on opening strait, but China won’t confirm
Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed that Iran must open the Strait of Hormuz, though China didn’t confirm this.
Xi didn’t talk publicly about his Iran discussions with Trump. China’s foreign ministry called the war a conflict “which should never have happened, has no reason to continue.”
Ebrahim Azizi, who leads Iran’s parliament security committee, said Saturday that Iran has prepared a system to manage ship traffic through the strait on a specific route that will be announced soon.
Azizi said only business ships and those cooperating with Iran would benefit, and fees would be charged for special services.
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