Iran Seeks to Harden Stance Against US to Create Leverage
A senior Iranian official stated that Tehran has realized it must establish leverage before negotiating with Donald Trump. Meanwhile, reports indicate the US is facing a shortage of long-range missiles.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters that the country's leadership has realized it must establish leverage before opening negotiations with President Donald Trump. This perception has led Iran to adopt militant rhetoric in recent days, strengthen ties with its proxies, and threaten to block the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
According to the report, the Iranian official clarified that the leadership concluded that previous attempts to show flexibility only led to increased pressure from Washington. In Tehran, they assess that Donald Trump interprets Iranian concessions as weakness and will only respond to pressure. A Gulf source added that as long as Washington does not accept a new reality that grants Iran a more significant role in the Strait of Hormuz, the confrontation could spread, with attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure remaining on the table.
"Donald Trump thinks he can strike the Iranians hard and bring them back to the negotiating table, but they will not fold," said the Gulf source. Instead of a frontal confrontation, Iran prefers to increase pressure on the US through economic levers, betting that it can handle the situation longer than the Donald Trump administration.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated this evening that the straits are open. According to him, negotiations are underway between Oman and Iran regarding the immediate passage of ships: "There is progress, but it is not final; we hope it will happen accordingly."
US Missile Shortage Concerns
The US military has exhausted a significant portion of its long-range missile stockpile in the war with Iran, three sources familiar with the data told Reuters. The current situation raises concerns regarding the military's readiness for future conflicts, as the army has used almost all of its surface-to-surface missiles, specifically the ATACMS and PrSM.
Long-range munitions constitute a significant part of the US military arsenal and are essential for deterring adversaries, including Russia and China. Although the US Central Command had nearly depleted the ground missiles it held before the war, sources noted that it managed to replenish stocks from other US military sources around the world.
In response to the report, the White House released a statement on behalf of Donald Trump, asserting that the US has far more ammunition than any other actor in the world. "Our defense companies are currently producing more ammunition than ever before, while simultaneously expanding factories and upgrading equipment to record levels," said Donald Trump.
